Department for Transport

Public Transport: Carbon Emissions

Kate Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are adequately supported with decarbonising public transport networks.

Rachel Maclean: The Government has allocated £25m in 2021/22 to support local authorities with the skills and people needed to implement the National Bus Strategy. We have already given an initial £100k to each Local Transport Authority, with more capacity funding to be allocated soon. We are also developing a Bus Centre of Excellence to serve as a repository of information and guidance for local authorities and bus operators, helping to build capabilities into the future. Our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, due to be published shortly, will include further commitments to drive the decarbonisation agenda at the local level.

Cycling and Walking: Local Government

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether local authorities are required to participate in the emergency active travel fund.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department’s statutory guidance to local authorities on the management of their road networks in response to COVID-19 strongly encourages them to introduce measures to support more cycling and walking in their areas, but it does not require them to do so. All combined authorities and local transport authorities were allocated funding from the Emergency Active Travel Fund in 2020/21, but there was no obligation on any authority to accept the funding or to introduce active travel schemes: these are decisions for local authorities. The Department plans to write to the same authorities shortly inviting bids for capital funding for active travel schemes to be delivered in 2021/22.

Cycleways

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the use of cycle lanes under the emergency active travel fund.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department has commissioned a formal national evaluation of the Active Travel Fund (ATF) which will consider this matter in some detail. A baseline report of schemes selected for evaluation is scheduled to be received by the Department in December 2022 as we know it takes time to understand the long-term impacts of new cycling infrastructure. This will be followed by a final report in late 2024. Local authorities have also been required to submit regular monitoring reports to the Department on their use of active travel funding. In the meantime, the Department’s 2020 Road Traffic Estimates for Great Britain, published on 28 April 2021, suggest that the amount of cycling in 2020 was 46% higher than it was in 2019, and the highest level of cycling on the public highway since the 1960s.

Railway Stations: Safety

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how regularly railway station roofs are subject to a safety inspection.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Network Rail advises that visual inspections take place every twelve months and detailed inspections every five years with additional examinations as necessary.

Railways: Tickets

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions as he had with Train Operating Companies on staff recommencing ticket inspections; and what steps he is taking to ensure that staff safety is prioritised and safely managed as covid-19 restrictions are relaxed.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, the safety of all rail workers and passengers continues to be our priority. The job of revenue protection staff is a vital one in ensuring that journeys are properly paid for and also their presence and visibility creates an essential sense of security for passengers. We have issued guidance to train operators on the steps they need to take to protect staff in line with Public Health England advice, as well as safer travel guidance for passengers, both of which are regularly reviewed and updated. Within the context of this guidance, Train Operating Companies are expected to carry out risk assessments regularly and consider how best to implement safe methods of working, including how and when to resume revenue protection duties.

East West Rail: Electrification

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the East-West Rail line from Cambridge to Oxford will be an electrified line, using fully electrified trains, from the date services on that line begin.

Chris Heaton-Harris: We are keen to ensure passengers realise the benefits of East West Rail as early as possible. This means it is likely that diesel rolling stock could be used between Oxford and Bedford when services commence. This also allows East West Rail Company to explore a wider range of green energy technologies that could replace diesel rolling stock so that they can move closer towards becoming a net-zero carbon railway by the time services run from Oxford to Cambridge.

Bus Services: West Yorkshire

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of journeys undertaken by bus in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.

Rachel Maclean: The National Bus Strategy, published on the 15 March, will deliver better bus services for passengers across England, through ambitious and far-reaching reform of how services are planned and delivered, to make local bus services more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated with simpler fares. We expect Local Transport Authorities to produce Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) by the end of October 2021, setting out an ambitious vision for travel by bus in their area, meeting the goals and expectations in the strategy. BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation funding that each authority receives.

Travel: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of using NHS covid-19 testing centres to support international travel.

Robert Courts: The government have helped to establish a network of private testing providers for international travel in order to safeguard the availability of NHS tests and testing centres for those who have COVID-19 symptoms. We maintain a comprehensive list of test providers on gov.uk.

Railways: West Yorkshire

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of journeys undertaken by train in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.

Chris Heaton-Harris: We have just announced an investment of £317 million as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade which will boost punctuality, reliability and connectivity across West Yorkshire. The region has the latest high-tech trains which stop at Wakefield, the city’s Westgate station has recently undergone a major £8.8 million rebuild, its Kirkgate station has been redeveloped and furthermore we are investing in two new stations for Leeds.

Railway Stations: Safety

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on inspecting railway station roofs in the UK in the last five years.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Train Operators and Network Rail are responsible for conducting visual inspections at the stations they manage every twelve months and detailed inspections every five years. As the responsibility for maintaining stations is split between Network Rail and the various Train Operating Companies, there is no central record of cost for the regular station roof inspections that are undertaken.

South Western Main Line: Rolling Stock

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse (a) was of the Class 442 Wessex Electric renovation programme and (b) is planned to be of the refurbishment of the Class 458 Juniper stock by South Western Railway.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who is liable for the financial costs of the withdrawal from service of South Western Railway's Class 442 Wessex Electric units.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The impact of Covid-19 on passenger numbers travelling on South Western Railway services has been significant, and is not expected to return to previous levels when restrictions are lifted for some time. The Class 442 fleet is no longer needed to deliver SWR’s planned timetable. SWR has decided to withdraw the fleet with immediate effect and cease the programme of modifications that were underway to avoid incurring further costs to the taxpayer to reintroduce and operate these trains. The aborted cost of the 442 project is £32m and the withdrawal of the fleet is expected to save circa £8m per year. The Class 442s would have been withdrawn in August 2024 in any event as the trains are not compliant with requirements for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM). This decision brings this forward and removes a fleet that is not fully accessible from the Rail Network sooner than originally planned. Under the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement, revenue and cost risk are borne by the DfT.

Motor Vehicles: Construction

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will reverse his decision to reduce the weight of construction vehicles from 38.4 and 44 tonnes to 32 tonnes; and what environmental assessments his Department has undertaken prior to making that decision.

Rachel Maclean: There has been no recent change to the weight limits applicable to construction vehicles. The general maximum laden weight for the heaviest (four axle) rigid construction vehicles has never been higher than 32 tonnes. Following consultation, a derogation was introduced in 2018 permitting a limited and specific number of volumetric concrete mixers (also known as mobile concrete batching plant) to operate at higher than the standard applicable weights for vehicles of their design. This derogation is for a defined period. Due to the small number of vehicles and legislative nature of this derogation, no environmental impact assessment was conducted.

Railways: Construction

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the construction materials shortage on (a) HS2 and (b) all other major rail infrastructure projects.

Andrew Stephenson: Working with their supply chains, the availability of construction materials is regularly reviewed by High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Network Rail Limited, East West Rail Limited and the Department for Transport. Our latest assessments do not currently predict an impact on the cost and schedule ranges, published in the HS2 March 2021 Parliamentary Report, or Network Rail’s Control Period Budget, or those currently estimated by East West Rail Limited.

Railways: Freight

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the proportion of freight trains powered by renewable energy sources.

Chris Heaton-Harris: While rail freight is already a comparatively green mode of moving goods, we have been working alongside the rail industry to make it even greener. In the last three years (for which data is available), we have completed almost 700 miles of electrification in England and Wales. As we deliver more electrification schemes in an efficient and affordable way, this will increase the opportunity for freight operating companies to use more electric and bi-mode locomotives, therefore using more renewable energy from the grid and from Network Rail’s renewable power purchase agreements.Since 2019, the Department has contributed just under £750,000 to fund two First of a Kind projects that focus on the potential use of renewable new traction technologies (battery and hydrogen) to power freight trains, and over £2.5m to fund a project to enable renewable power sources to feed-in directly into the rail network. The Department also funds an ongoing programme of research, led by the Rail Safety and Standards Board, that includes reducing carbon and air quality emissions from rail freight.We will be setting out further plans to support the decarbonisation of rail freight, and reduce the use of diesel, in the forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP).

Trains: Hitachi

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the net effect on employment in the UK was as a result of his Department's decision to award Hitachi a contract for the Intercity Class 800 series trains over competing UK suppliers.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The IEP contract led to Hitachi investing over £80million in a rail vehicle manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe in the North East, generating direct employment for over 700 people and many more in the wider local and national supply chain. It has also created opportunities for many new suppliers to access the rail industry leading to an investment of over £1.8bn in the UK supply chain since 2013. The opening of the factory has also created a legacy for future skills as Hitachi Rail became co-founders of South Durham University Technical College specialising in engineering skills for 14-18-year-olds.

South Western Main Line: Rolling Stock

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the delivery and rollout of the Class 701 train on the South Western Railway network.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the cascading of South Western Railway's Class 455, 456 and 707 fleet.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Since the sale of Bombardier to Alstom, the Alstom team has been reviewing the production programme of the 701s in discussion with South Western Railway (SWR). This will establish when the first 701s will enter passenger service on SWR suburban lines, and at what rate the full fleet will be delivered. The new depot at Feltham is now operational in readiness for the arrival of the fleet. Six class 707 units have been cascaded to Southeastern; the remaining are planned to be cascaded in line with the sub-lease dates (July to October 2021), while the Class 455 and 456 units are all still on lease to SWR.

Roads: Freight

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of road freight journeys made in vehicles powered by renewable energy.

Rachel Maclean: Decarbonisation of the UK’s road freight sector will play a critical role in delivering on our climate ambitions. The Government is rewarding the supply of renewable fuels for use in road transport, including heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation scheme. We have also made funding available through multimillion-pound industry demonstration competitions, such as the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (the F4C), which support projects capable of producing low carbon waste-based fuels for use in aviation and HGVs. The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution announced that we are investing £20m this financial year in planning for zero emission road freight trials which will support UK industry to develop cost-effective, zero-emission HGVs and their refueling infrastructure in the UK. These trials will advance research and development in the technologies of catenary electric, battery electric and renewable hydrogen-powered HGVs, allowing us to begin the commercial roll-out of the appropriate new technologies before the end of the decade. We will also be consulting on a date for phasing out the sale of new diesel HGVs to drive innovation and development and increase the uptake of zero emission alternatives within the HGV sector. In November 2020, HM Treasury published the National Infrastructure Strategy. This confirmed that the £950m Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) was to be made available to future-proof electrical grid capacity at service areas on motorways and major A-roads. Whilst the RCF is currently targeting cars and vans, the additional electrical capacity will support charging infrastructure for zero emission HGVs. We are currently analysing the demand from zero-emission HGVs at Motorway Service Stations and considering how the infrastructure installed as part of the RCF can be used by zero emission HGVs in the future.

Members: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence. The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.

Suicide: Orwell Bridge

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to ensure that  suicide prevention measures are in place at Orwell Bridge in Suffolk.

Rachel Maclean: Highways England takes its responsibility to support vulnerable people extremely seriously. Highways England works closely with the Samaritans and, since March 2021, it has installed newer Samaritan signs on the Orwell Bridge’s approaches, abutments and in nearby laybys to increase their visibility. There are four telephones on the Orwell Bridge that directly link to the Samaritans. These were upgraded in 2017 to provide more modern equipment away from the A14 carriageway. Highways England is currently preparing to carry out a series of inspections and surveys to identify further measures to help prevent suicides.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Members: Correspondence

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Energy Minister plans to respond to the letter to her from the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun of 30 March 2021 on pumped storage hydro.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: A response was issued to the Honourable Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun on 27 May 2021.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak dated 27 January 2021, referenced RL17479.

Amanda Solloway: My Hon Friend the Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth replied to my hon Friend on 2 June 2021.

Carbon Capture and Storage and Hydrogen: Scotland

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that industry in Scotland has access to (a) carbon capture and storage and (b) hydrogen production infrastructure required to meet Scottish and UK decarbonisation targets by 2045 and 2050.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Last month, Government accepted the Committee on Climate Change's Carbon Budget 6 recommendation; this is a significant step in the UK's global climate leadership and CCUS and hydrogen will be critical to meeting these important commitments.In May this year, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy set out the details of the Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Cluster Sequencing Process. Through this process, government will look to identify at least two CCUS clusters whose readiness suggests they are most naturally suited to deployment in the mid-2020s, as part of our efforts to identify and support a logical sequence of deployment for CCUS projects in the UK. Projects within the clusters will have the first opportunity to be considered to receive any necessary support under the government’s CCUS Programme including access to the £1bn CCS Infrastructure Fund, business models for Transport & Storage, power, industrial carbon capture and low carbon hydrogen. Further details on the revenue mechanisms to bring through private sector investment via these business models will be set out later this year.We will continue to engage with each of the devolved administrations to develop our approach the delivery of CCUS across the UK. In order to facilitate this work, we continue to be open to any CCUS projects across the UK identifying themselves to us.The UK has expertise and assets to support both electrolytic (green) and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) enabled (blue) hydrogen production. Our twin track approach will drive cost effective supply volumes in the 2020s in line with our 2030 ambition, whilst scaling up green hydrogen. This ambition will be supported by a range of measures, including a UK wide £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, and our hydrogen business model. We will be consulting shortly on these measures, alongside the publication of the Hydrogen Strategy. We are working closely with the Devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Government, to help realise the economic and decarbonisation benefits that a UK hydrogen economy will bring.We have also supported the development and deployment of projects within Scotland’s industrial cluster that will deliver low carbon technologies and enabling infrastructure. Through the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, Scotland’s Net Zero Infrastructure Programme (SNZI) received £31.3m in March this year from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Conditions of Employment

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) agency workers and (b) other workers are treated fairly, respectfully and that their rights are protected.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to protecting and enhancing workers’ rights, including for agency workers. In the past year the Government has taken a variety of actions to support workers. These include increasing the National Living Wage for around 2 million workers, extending eligibility for the minimum wage to thousands of seafarers, enabling workers to carry over more annual leave due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ensured that those made redundant after a period of furlough do not lose out on redundancy pay, increasing the reference period employers use to calculate holiday pay to improve seasonal workers’ wages, and ensuring that prospective parents who are furloughed do not lose out on maternity pay entitlements and other forms of parental pay.The Government has also introduced additional protections for agency workers. From 6 April 2020 the Government banned the use of ‘Swedish Derogation’ contracts, ensuring agency workers cannot opt out of their right to equal pay with permanent counterparts after the twelve-week qualifying period in the same role with the same hirer. We have also introduced the requirement for employment businesses to give new agency workers a Key Information Document to improve transparency around pay. The Government has also committed to extend the remit of the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate, which enforces agency workers’ rights, so that they can investigate relevant complaints involving umbrella companies and seek compliance from them. EAS has also doubled the number of frontline inspector roles.

Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry: Post Office

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether people who held senior management posts at the Post Office from 2006 to date will be called to give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT public inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Scully: I announced to the House on 19 May that, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, I will put the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry on to a statutory footing on 1 June 2021. This change will give Sir Wyn Williams powers to compel organisations to provide documents and witnesses to give evidence, under oath if necessary to ensure the Inquiry can get to the bottom of what happened and get the postmasters the answers they are looking for.The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of my Department and so my Department does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

Employment: Coronavirus

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the long-term loss of labour-market participation among people under the age of 35 as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to supporting everyone who has been affected by the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the labour market. From the outset of this pandemic, we have as a country put our arms around UK workers. The Government has acted decisively to provide an amazing package of support to protect people’s jobs, businesses and livelihoods.In order to help keep people employed and prevent the loss of labour-market participation during the pandemic we have put in place a huge package of support to businesses which has enabled them to continue operating. This includes business grants to support those required to close; the Bounce Back Loan Scheme which has seen 1.5 million loans approved worth over £46 billion; the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme which has seen over 98,000 loans approved worth over £23 billion and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan scheme which has seen 716 loans approved worth £5.3 billion.Additionally our new Recovery Loan Scheme opened for applications in April, and new Restart Grants (totalling around £3.4 billion) will support businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England to enable them to reopen and creating jobs as restrictions are eased.The Government is also supporting those who have become unemployed during the pandemic back into work. Through Plan for Jobs, the Government invested over £30bn in measures to create, support and protect jobs. This included over £3bn investment in the Kickstart programme and additional 13,500 Work Coaches in our Jobcentres, as well as other measures focussed on boosting work search, skills and apprenticeships.At the Spending Review 2020, my Rt Hon friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer agreed an additional £2.9bn funding for the Restart Scheme, to support people to find work quickly by providing intensive and tailored support to people in England and Wales who have been unemployed for over 12 months.

District Heating: Prices

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of tenants on heat networks experience (a) per kWh tariffs and (b) standing charges for heat that are more than 1.5 times the capped price for gas.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: It is challenging to directly compare gas and heat network bills. This is because heat network bills tend to include additional system costs such as system maintenance, whereas these additional costs are typically paid by gas consumers through other means.Whilst there is currently no requirement for heat networks owners or operators to formally report details on their pricing practices, studies have been carried out which provide useful insight into heat network pricing from a sample of the market, namely the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) and the 2018 CMA heat networks market study (CMA).Government is committed to implementing the Heat Networks Market Framework, which will introduce price transparency requirements on heat network operators. The future heat networks regulator will also have powers to protect consumers from disproportionately high pricing and monopoly power.

District Heating: Prices

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of customers of heat networks that pay for heat at more than double the price of fuel if using a gas boiler at prices governed by the cap on standard variable tariffs.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: It is challenging to directly compare gas and heat network bills. This is because heat network bills tend to include additional system costs such as system maintenance, whereas these additional costs are typically paid by gas consumers through other means.Whilst there is currently no requirement for heat networks owners or operators to formally report details on their pricing practices, studies have been carried out which provide useful insight into heat network pricing from a sample of the market, namely the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) and the 2018 CMA heat networks market study (CMA).Government is committed to implementing the Heat Networks Market Framework, which will introduce price transparency requirements on heat network operators. The future heat networks regulator will also have powers to protect consumers from disproportionately high pricing and monopoly power.

District Heating: Social Rented Housing

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of homes allocated to social housing under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on heat networks where the social landlord has no mechanism for control in relation to performance, reliability and pricing.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We do not hold data on the exact number of social homes under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on a heat network. However, the results of the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) found that heat network consumers were more likely to be renting from a housing association or local authority (32% and 34%) compared with the wider population (8% and 9%).The ability for landlords to have control over the performance, reliability and pricing of a heat network will in part depend on the network’s delivery model. This is based on whether it is the leaseholder or the heat supplier who holds the right to use the network. The CMA heat networks study found that where the consumers have the right to use the network as part of their leaseholder or tenancy agreement, this provides them with more protection and control. In addition, leases can state that supply of heating and hot water is the responsibility of the landlord, and the Landlord and Tenant Act places requirements on landlords to maintain a property and its associated assets, such as heating. The CMA report found that the types of business models found in the heat networks market vary significantly.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the (a) terms of reference, (b) qualifying criteria and (c) submission deadlines will be provided for the £20 million allocation to support the development of the next generation carbon capture, usage and storage technologies.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: On 24th May the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the CCUS 2.0 Innovation programme that will be providing up to £20 million to support the development of next generation carbon capture, usage and storage technologies. The EOI confirmed that BEIS will be looking to publish the competition guidance documents and application form by 11th June 2021, with a deadline for applications by 8th August 2021.The competition guidance document will provide the scope of the competition and the assessment criteria. Applicants will have up to 8 weeks to complete an application for grant-funding, with the online application form due to go live on the 28th June 2021.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in reference to his Department's announcement on green technology and UK jobs on 24 May 2021, for what reason projects based only in England and Wales have received up to £250,000 funding for projects that contain innovative designs that develop new ways of removing greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere and store them safely; and if he will make a statement.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Direct Air Capture (DAC) and Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) Innovation Programme allocated up to £250,000 to projects based in England and Scotland. United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) is supporting projects up to £4.5million which are based across the UK. Therefore, the coverage of the combined programmes is across the UK.

Hydrogen: Job Creation

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's announcement on green technology and UK jobs on 24 May 2021, where the proposed 8000 new jobs in hydrogen will be located.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's announcement on green technology and UK jobs on 24 May 2021, what his timescale is to deliver the 8000 new jobs in hydrogen.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan confirmed our ambition, working with industry, for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for use across the economy. The plan stated that this could see the UK benefitting from around 8,000 jobs by 2030.There is potential for hydrogen across the UK. Initially we expect many of these jobs will be linked to clusters in our industrial heartlands. This will support our ambitions on ‘levelling up’.The forthcoming Hydrogen Strategy will set out what is required to build a hydrogen economy fit for 2030, Carbon Budget 6 and beyond, whilst maximising economic benefits and supporting jobs and skills. We will work with the devolved administrations to deliver the strategy, while also noting their national plans and ambitions.

Hydrogen: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in reference to his Department's announcement on green technology and UK jobs on 24 May 2021, if he will list the (a) name and (b) locations of organisations that will receive funding as part of the £60 million funding announced for supporting the development of low carbon hydrogen in the UK; and whether such funding will be provided directly.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The up to £60m Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition opened for expressions of interest on 24 May 2021. Competition winners including locations of projects will be announced in due course. Subject to successful completion of due diligence, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will contract directly with competition winners.

Technology: Environment Protection

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much of the £166 million funding for green technology is newly allocated money from HM Treasury; and how much of that funding was previously allocated.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: This week’s £166 million cash injection for green technology sends a clear signal to industries across the British economy that we will invest in the UK’s cleaner, greener future as we look to build back better.£86.5 million of this funding was previously allocated from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio to launch competitions which will support the development of low carbon hydrogen in the UK and the development of the next generation carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technologies. Furthermore, we announced winners from phase one of the largest government programme supporting greenhouse gas removal technology development. The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio is a £1 billion fund, announced in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, and will be delivered from 2021-2025.Additional funding was provided through UKRI’s Strategic Priority Fund (SPF) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). The £31.5 million UKRI Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrators (GGR-D) programme is part of the second wave of the government’s SPF which invests in high quality multi and interdisciplinary research; announced in the 2019 £500m new investment in green technologies for a cleaner and healthier future. The two calls that have run to date as part of the GGR-D programme (for Demonstrator projects and Directorate Hub) also provided full details of the programme and funds associated with it.This £16.5m IETF funding was part of its Phase 1 competition and is supporting businesses from a range of industrial sectors across England and Wales to improve their energy efficiency and industrial processes. This funding will help these organisations to significantly reduce both their carbon footprint and energy costs and is part of the £315 million funding announced in the 2018 Autumn Budget and is available over the period to 2024.

Electricity: Storage

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the seasonal electricity storage capacity that will be required to deliver the net zero target.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Longer duration storage, including seasonal electricity storage, can help manage variation in generation and demand over long periods of time by storing excess generation until times when generation sources are less available or demand is greater. Analysis[1] suggests that longer-duration storage could reduce system costs by replacing gas-fired generation and reducing the requirement for other low-carbon generation.The analysis demonstrates that there are a number of scenarios for generation and storage that could deliver net zero. The electricity market should determine the best solutions for very low emissions and reliable supply of electricity, at a low cost to consumers.[1] Modelling 2050: electricity system analysis, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modelling-2050-electricity-system-analysis

Fossil Fuels: Exploration

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on (a) new exploration licenses for UK oil and gas (b) existing oil and gas reserves of the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s energy scenario aligned with the 1.5C goal of the Paris climate agreement published on 18 May 2021.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s recent report sets out a global pathway for achieving net zero. While the report acknowledges that continued investment in existing sources of oil and gas will be required to meet the world’s energy demands, it also states that no new oil or gas fields are necessary.The UK Continental Shelf is a mature oil and gas basin that is declining. We expect this rate of decline to be broadly in line with our domestic demand, and even with continued licensing for oil and gas in the UK, we expect the UK to remain a net importer of both oil and gas. This means that any reduction in the UK’s own production would simply result in the UK importing more oil and gas from other countries.In March, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced that a new climate compatibility checkpoint will be introduced into the oil and gas licensing regime. This checkpoint will help ensure that any future licenses are only awarded on the basis that they are aligned with the Government’s broad climate change ambitions, including the UK’s target of reaching net zero by 2050. This checkpoint will be designed by the end of 2021.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak dated 12 January 2021, referenced RL16885.

Amanda Solloway: My hon Friend the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets replied to my hon Friend on 2nd June 2021.

Space Debris: Scandinavia

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Scandinavian governments on the potential for upper-stage rocket debris from UK launches to land on their sovereign territory.

Amanda Solloway: There is no expectation that upper stage debris from any UK launch will affect the sovereign territory of any Scandinavian country. The Government has held discussions with all countries to the north of the British Isles which may hold an interest in, or whose territory may be affected by, space launch activities undertaken from the UK. Where there is a possibility of UK-based launch companies seeking to deposit launch vehicle debris (whether this is from the vehicle's upper stage or otherwise) in another state's territorial waters or Exclusive Economic Zone, the government intends to obtain consent from the affected countries.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people volunteered to participate in Novavax trials.

Nadhim Zahawi: Since the end of September 2020, Novavax recruited more than 15,000 participants aged 18 to 84 years old for the UK COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) volunteer registry.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Amanda Solloway: BEIS has a 15 working day target to provide a substantive response to hon. Members. The Cabinet Office will soon formally publish the correspondence performance data of Departments for the years: 2018, 2019 and 2020. In line with this publication, the Department has achieved the following annual results: 2018: 57% answered within 15 working days, 2019: 86% and 2020: 67%.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Finance

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has a shortlist or identified target projects for the allocation of the maximum £4.5 million allocation of project funding for investigating the viability of greenhouse gas removal methods; and if he will make a statement.

Amanda Solloway: As part of the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Strategic Priorities Fund Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrators programme, research teams across the UK will investigate the viability of five innovative methods of large-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) removal from the atmosphere in demonstrator projects of up to £4.5 million. In conjunction with a Directorate Hub led by University of Oxford for the programme, these investments aim to help the UK reach its legislated net-zero climate target by 2050.These five GHG removal (GGR) demonstrator projects will investigate:management of peatlands to maximise their GHG removal potential in farmland near Doncaster, and at upland sites in the South Pennines and in Pwllpeiran, west Walesenhanced rock weathering – crushing silicate rocks and spreading the particles at field trial sites on farmland in mid-Wales, Devon and Hertfordshireuse of biochar, a charcoal-like substance, as a viable method of carbon sequestration. Testing will take place at arable and grassland sites in the Midlands and Wales, a sewage disposal site in Nottinghamshire, former mine sites and railway embankmentslarge-scale tree planting, or afforestation, to assess the most effective species and locations for carbon sequestration at sites across the UK. It includes land owned by the Ministry of Defence, the National Trust and Network Railrapid scale-up of perennial bioenergy crops such as grasses (Miscanthus) and short rotation coppice willow at locations in Lincolnshire and Lancashire. The demonstrator projects have already been chosen and notified. Further details are available on the UKRI website (https://beta.ukri.org/news/uk-invests-over-30m-in-large-scale-greenhouse-gas-removal/).The results will be used to shape longer-term government decision-making on the most effective technologies to help the UK tackle climate change and reduce CO2 emissions.

Attorney General

Domestic Abuse and Gender Based Violence

Feryal Clark: To ask the Attorney General, what meetings (a) he and (b) the Solicitor General have had with women's groups to discuss measures to prevent (a) gender-based violence and (b) domestic violence since February 2020.

Michael Ellis: Ministers engage regularly with stakeholders from across the justice sector and value the importance of listening to and the opportunity to understand their views in relation to relevant issues. Meetings with external organisations, including women’s groups, are published as part of the quarterly Ministerial transparency returns. The following table includes a list of meetings the Law Officers have had with stakeholders and women’s groups since February 2020:MinisterDateName of organisation or rolePurpose of meetingGeoffrey Cox2020-02-11Victims' Commissioner, Victims' Commissioner for London, End Violence Against Women and GirlsMeeting to discuss cross-government work on rape.Michael Ellis2020-01-23The LighthouseVisit to discuss their work supporting victims of Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseMichael Ellis2020-01-23Victim SupportVisit to discuss their work supporting victims of crimeSuella Braverman2020-04-22Victims' CommissionerIntroductory meeting to discuss work on Rape And Serious Sexual Offending, the Cross-Government End-to-End Rape Review and Domestic AbuseSuella Braverman2020-09-09Victims' CommissionerTo discuss criminal justice issues of interest to the Victims' Commissioner.Suella Braverman2020-11-04Victims' CommissionerRoutine meeting to discuss issues of relevance to the Victims’ Commissioner (including rape and domestic prosecutions, the approach to disclosure, and wider victims’ work).Lucy Frazer2021-04-20Domestic Abuse CommissionerIntroductory meeting to discuss issues in relation to Domestic Abuse, including the prosecution of DA cases during the pandemic.Lucy Frazer2021-04-26Rape CrisisMeeting to discuss work to improve the criminal justice response to rape and serious sexual offences (‘RASSO’).Lucy Frazer & Michael Ellis2021-05-10Victims' CommissionerRoutine meeting to discuss progress towards publication of the cross-government rape review, and the impact of the pandemic on victims.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  with reference to the pilot projects aimed at supporting people to self-isolate in areas with higher covid-19 infection rates, what steps the pilots will take to identify people who do not come forward to take a test for covid-19 because they lack the financial means to self-isolate; if he will make it his policy to include further financial support for people to self isolate; how long the pilots will take to be evaluated; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The pilots have been co-designed with the local authorities involved and will focus on interventions designed to address barriers to uptake of testing and adherence to self-isolation. These include improving accessibility to and effectiveness of the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme, including raising the income threshold for eligibility, with the aim of giving people on low incomes confidence that they will receive financial support quickly if they test positive for COVID-19.The pilots work will inform future policy through robust evidence on specific interventions. The pilot programme is designed to find innovative approaches to encourage uptake in testing, evaluate these approaches and share pilot results widely and quickly with local decision-makers. The length of evaluation will vary from pilot to pilot.

Dental Services: Norfolk

Jerome Mayhew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of NHS dental provision in Norfolk.

Jo Churchill: National Health Service dentists throughout the country have been asked to maximise safe throughput to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and care for vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. This has been underpinned by the requirement for dental providers to deliver 60% of normal activity volumes for the first six months of 2021/22 for full payment of the NHS contractual value.NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders to amend the Directory of Service to improve pathways for urgent patients to urgent dental centres and dental practices across the East of England. In addition, a web-based programme called ‘Service Finder’ has recently been launched which provides up-to-date information about services that are available locally. A transformational dental strategy has also been developed in the East of England, to prioritise urgent care, prevention and inequalities. Plans to procure additional primary care dental services across Suffolk, Norfolk and Waveney are currently being reviewed.

Sudden Adult Death Syndrome

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of sudden adult death syndrome.

Jo Churchill: There are no current plans to do so. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing plans with the British Heart Foundation, St John Ambulance and GoodSAM, to raise awareness of first responder lead activities and to increase bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation skills for those that have suffered cardiac arrest and help prevent Sudden Adult Syndrome.

Mechanical Thrombectomy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to expand access to mechanical thrombectomy services for stroke patients.

Jo Churchill: The expansion of thrombectomy services across England for those patients who have suffered a stroke is a multi-year programme within the NHS Long Term Plan. Thrombectomy is available in 22 centres in England, with another two non-neuroscience centres currently under development to provide access to thrombectomy.There are additional plans to increase the number of operators able to perform thrombectomy. Due to training requirements this is currently restricted to Interventional Neuroradiologists in England. Over the past two years there has been work undertaken with the General Medical Council to develop a credentialing programme which would enable acceleration of training to a wider cohort of medical professions such as radiologists, interventional cardiologists and neurosurgeons.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the NHS plans to tackle (a) the current backlog in cancer diagnosis and (b) ensure that any additional referrals for diagnosis are not delayed.

Jo Churchill: The National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance 2021/22 sets out how the NHS aims to tackle the backlog in cancer treatment which includes:- Increasing people with symptoms coming forward through cancer-specific messages as part of the ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign;- Rapidly increasing diagnostic capacity, with immediate action plans to increase endoscopy and computed tomography capacity; and- Focusing on reducing the number of patients waiting over 62-days on cancer pathways, rescheduling diagnostic procedures or treatment for those who have had their care delayed by the pandemic.Local health systems, drawing on advice and analysis from their Cancer Alliance, will ensure that there is sufficient diagnostic and treatment capacity in place to meet cancer need to ensure that any additional referrals for diagnosis are not delayed.

NHS Trusts: Buildings

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Trusts have buildings which use Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).

Edward Argar: In January 2020 National Health Service trusts conducted extensive building survey works to identify the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in their fabric, using technology to record potential issues and visually identify and log potential risks.This identified that there are 13 NHS trusts and a total of 32 buildings containing RAAC planks.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak dated 25 March 2021, referenced RL20466.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 27 May 2021.

Hospitals: East Anglia

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) James Paget and (b) West Suffolk hospitals were constructed using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.

Edward Argar: NHS Digital’s National Health Service estates return shows that the proportion of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete in James Paget Hospital is currently 96% and 58% at West Suffolk Hospital.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide funding for research into covid-19 vaccine efficacy among all types of blood cancer.

Nadhim Zahawi: As part of the COVID-19 Immunity National Core Study, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is providing initial funding of £1.8 million for 12 months towards the OCTAVE study, examining the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in clinically at-risk groups and £3 million towards a new research call to support projects investigating COVID-19 vaccine responses and immune failure. UKRI is also supporting the COVID-19 Data and Connectivity National Core Studies Programme with an investment of up to £15.2 million, which will enable studies including the evaluation of vaccine uptake and efficacy across all populations, including people with blood cancer.

Pregnancy: Coronavirus

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that pregnant women are supported to access to the covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: Pregnant women can use the National Booking Service to book their vaccination on the same basis as other eligible adults. The Booking Service has been updated to ensure that those who are pregnant are offered appointments only at vaccination centres offering the appropriate vaccine for their needs. Anyone who is pregnant and who has questions about vaccination can speak to their general practitioner or maternity service or speak to a healthcare professional at their vaccination appointment.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of legal protection for patients who have suffered from complications after receiving a covid-19 vaccination.

Nadhim Zahawi: No specific assessment has been made.Where individuals believe they have come to avoidable harm in relation to a vaccine, they could pursue a compensation claim against the producers of the vaccine.While not constituting legal protection, the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) was established in 1979, to help ease the burden on those individuals where, on very rare occasions, vaccination against certain diseases has caused severe disablement. COVID-19 was added to the scheme in 2020. The Scheme provides a one-off, tax-free, lump sum to those who are severely disabled as a result of a vaccination. The VDPS is not a compensation scheme and making a claim will not prevent someone from pursuing a compensation claim.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to measure the value of covid-19 vaccine boosters for (a) people with blood cancer and (b) other immunocompromised groups.

Nadhim Zahawi: To ensure ongoing protection for the United Kingdom population, particularly the most vulnerable, we are preparing for a potential booster vaccination programme. While we are planning for several potential scenarios, final decisions on the timing and scope of the booster programme will not be taken until later this year, in line with results from key clinical studies. This includes the OCTAVE study, which will examine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in clinically at-risk groups, including patients with certain immunocompromised conditions such as blood cancer.Any decision on a booster vaccination programme will be informed by independent advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the role of genomic sequencing in tackling the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England (PHE) analyses COVID-19 genomic data together with epidemiological data to derive information on mutation, variants and transmission.This analysis is fed into health protection activities such as local outbreak management, detection and characterisation of novel variants permitting more accurate predictions of the trajectory of the pandemic, output into policy including the border risk assessment and the roadmap tests and the vaccination programme. In addition, PHE’s data and analysis contribute to international control activities.

Health

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effects on health of (a) precarious work and (b) the climate crisis.

Jo Churchill: No such assessment has been made of the effects on health of precarious work.The National Adaptation Programme has an objective for Public Health England to update the evidence base on the health impacts of climate change, considering a wide range of risks and opportunities of climate change impacts on health as identified by the second Climate Change Risk Assessment.An update of estimates of direct and indirect climate-related health impacts using the UK Climate Projections’ 18 projections will be included. Findings will be published in a comprehensive report ‘Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK’.

Coronavirus: Immunotherapy

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the extent of the UK’s access to monoclonal antibody therapies as an alternative to covid-19 vaccines.

Jo Churchill: The Therapeutics Taskforce continues to monitor a range of COVID-19 therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies, aimed at different stages of the treatment pathway. There has been a collaboration with the Vaccines Taskforce to assess the potential of neutralising monoclonal antibodies to provide passive immunity as an alternative to COVID-19 vaccines. We continue to work closely with the cross-agency group RAPID C-19, to assess evidence from clinical trials and delivery to patients, following regulatory approval.We are in contact with a number of manufacturers to ensure that United Kingdom patients have access to COVID-19 therapeutics as evidence continues to emerge.

Pharmacy: West Yorkshire

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pharmacies are signed up to the Pharmacy Collect scheme in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of pharmacies which are signed up to the Pharmacy Collect scheme in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.

Jo Churchill: As of 18 May 2021, 68 pharmacies have opted in to provide the service in Wakefield. We do not hold this data for West Yorkshire as a region. Nine in 10 pharmacies across England are currently registered to offer lateral flow tests and there are no current plans to increase the numbers further across West Yorkshire.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release of 29 March 2021, how the Office for Health Promotion will work across government to promote the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The Office for Health Promotion will work to promote and improve health, including a particular focus on improving the health of children across the Department, the health system, national and local government and wider partners to drive and support action on mental and physical wellbeing. We will present more detail on our plans for the Office for Health Promotion in due course.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of B.1.617 covid-19 cases have had close contacts traced within 24 hours in (a) Brighton and Hove, (b) the South East region and (c) the UK.

Jo Churchill: This data is not available in the format requested, as variant sequencing and identification is made after contact tracing is complete.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a statement on the role that the new Office for Health Promotion will play in the provision of mental and emotional support services for children and young people within (a) school, (b) community and (c) clinical settings.

Jo Churchill: The Office for Health Promotion (OHP) will bring health improvement focused expert advice, analysis and evidence together with policy development and delivery from across Public Health England and the Department, including a particular focus on improving the health of children. We will provide more detail on plans for the OHP in due course.

Question

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on the transition of responsibilities for obesity policy from Public Health England to the National Institute for Health Promotion; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The Department has had discussions with a wide range of stakeholders on our overall public health reform programme. In addition, we have established a Population Health Stakeholder Advisory Group to consider how to strengthen both local and national functions that support improved health and wellbeing outcomes. Further information on this Group is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/population-health-improvement-stakeholder-advisory-groupOn 29 March, the Department published ‘Transforming the public health system: reforming the public health system for the challenges of our times’ inviting views on supporting effective implementation of our reform programme. The responses are currently being analysed.

Question

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Office for Health Promotion on obesity services; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The Office for Health Promotion will bring together expert advice, analysis and evidence with policy development and implementation to ensure that decision-making and delivery are better informed, more effective and joined-up, for obesity and for other health promotion priorities.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what educational materials on the covid-19 vaccination are being communicated to people who are reluctant to receive a vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: Departmental and National Health Service (NHS) social media channels have published a series of videos with vaccine experts, general practitioners, and senior clinical advisors to answer questions frequently raised by people who are more reluctant to receive a vaccine. The NHS website has a dedicated COVID-19 vaccine page that is regularly updated with the latest advice. Public Health England has also created an online resource centre where other organisations, including local authorities, can access materials that they can use in their local communities.

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the terms of reference are of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Review working group.

Ms Nadine Dorries: There is a cross-system working group which meets to discuss the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. There are no formal terms of reference as the working group is not a decision-making forum and is focused on monitoring progress towards delivering the Government’s response to the recommendations in the Review.

Miscarriage

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of second trimester miscarriages on expectant parents who are unable to take statutory bereavement leave.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We have made no such assessment.We encourage employers to provide appropriate support to women who have suffered a miscarriage and respond sensitively to each individual’s specific needs.

DNACPR Decisions

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2021 to Question 185441 on the Ministerial Oversight Group for DNACPR: whether a date for the oversight group to convene has been set; and where the minutes and terms of reference of that group will be published.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The first meeting of the Ministerial Oversight Group is scheduled for 8 June 2021. Decisions on the publication of the terms of reference and minutes will be made at the first meeting of the Group.

NHS: Computer Software

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to enable the NHS App to access information relating to patients' (a) physical and mental health, (b) families, (c) lifestyle and social circumstances, (d) ethnicity, (e) biometric details and (f) criminal convictions or alleged criminal behaviour.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The NHS App does not capture or access any information which is not strictly necessary to deliver services to help people manage their health and access essential health services. The NHS App is independently tested against standards set by the National Cyber Security Centre, with extensive assurance work undertaken at each release to ensure it meets those standards.The COVID-19 Status Certification programme initially issued a Privacy Notice copied from a template which included a standard list of data, many items of which are not collected. That Privacy Notice has since been updated to only include data fields which are collected. Fields such as those relating to ‘criminal convictions or alleged criminal behaviour’ are not relevant and have been deleted.

Mental Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on outcomes for patients of the delivery of remote mental health services (a) face-to-face, (b) by telephone and (c) by video call.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such comparative assessment has been made.Data on access to mental health services on people with mental health conditions is collated in the Mental Health Services Dataset and the Improving access to Psychological Therapies dataset. While both these datasets are able to record the consultation medium and show increased use of remote consultations for people in contact with services, it is too early to determine the overall effect of this change on service users and outcomes.

Health Services: Females

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve women’s health outcomes.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government has announced the first women’s health strategy for England to improve the health and wellbeing of women. To ensure the strategy reflects what women identify as priorities, the Government launched a call for evidence on 8 March until 13 June. The evidence gathered through the call for evidence will inform the priorities, content and actions for the strategy. We will respond to the call for evidence after the summer and we aim to publish the strategy later this year.

Mental Illness

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the NHS is able to diagnose mental health conditions at an early stage.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued the guideline ‘Common mental health problems: identification and pathways to care’ which is available at the following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg123This guideline assists healthcare professionals make an assessment of a possible mental health condition. Where initial questions indicate a possible mental health disorder, but the practitioner is not competent to perform a mental health assessment, the guideline provides for the patient to be referred to an appropriate healthcare professional.The General Medical Council’s ‘Outcomes for Graduates’ sets out what newly qualified doctors must know and be able to do. This includes a requirement to be able to explain, and illustrate by professional experience, the principles for the identification, safe management and referral of patients with mental health conditions.We have also announced that in 2021/22 the National Health Service will receive an additional £500 million, of which £79 million will be used to significantly expand children’s mental health services, including a faster increase in the number of mental health support teams in schools and colleges during this year. This will help support schools and health care professionals to respond to early signs of mental health conditions in children and young people.

Menopause

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that women who are diagnosed with early menopause are (a) referred to specialists and (b) receiving regular checks.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for menopause were updated in December 2019 and include criteria for the diagnosis, investigation and treatment of early menopause. NHS England and NHS Improvement expect all providers to give due regard to NICE’s guidance.After diagnosis has been confirmed in primary care, women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) or early menopause are generally referred to a specialist menopause clinic. The clinic will conduct further tests and, where appropriate, women will be offered treatment and fertility advice. After the initial consultations, women with POI should be reviewed after three months to assess the efficacy of their treatment. Further appointments should then be tailored to the needs of the individual.

Mental Illness: Coronavirus

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department is providing to local authorities in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England to help people experiencing mental-ill health as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Ms Nadine Dorries: In 2021-22 the total public health grant to local authorities will be £3.324 billion, of which £22,571,371 has been allocated to Coventry City Council. The grant will be ring-fenced for use on public health functions, including public mental health. This may include mental health challenges arising directly or indirectly from COVID-19.As part of the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, £15 million will be invested in local authority areas in the most deprived parts of the country to help stimulate and boost prevention and early intervention services. Five eligible West Midlands local authorities were invited to submit expressions of interest by 28 May 2021. Proposals will be reviewed by a national panel on 9 June 2021 with a view to confirming awards before the end of June 2021.

Mental Health

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a Mental Health Bill will be introduced in the 2021-22 parliamentary session.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The public consultation period on the Reforming the Mental Health Act white paper ended on 21 April 2021. We are now analysing the consultation responses and will respond with a formal report later this year. This will inform the development of our planned Mental Health Bill which will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Mental Health Services: Reform

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reform mental health treatment.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are committed to our ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan to expand and transform mental health services in England. We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year in mental health services by 2023-24, so that two million more people will be able to access mental health support. We are introducing new models of care which will give 370,000 adults with serious mental illness greater choice and control over their care and treatment, supporting them to live well in their communities.We have published the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, with a one-off targeted investment of £500 million, part of which will be used to accelerate key commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan. The Government published its white paper on Reforming the Mental Health Act on 13 January, to give people greater control over their treatment and receive the dignity and respect they deserve. Legislation will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Animal Experiments

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Commissioner for Patient Safety will make an assessment of the impact on patients of the reliance on data from animal tests in the early stages of developing new medicines and the difficulty in accurately translating those test results to people.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Once appointed, it will be for the Patient Safety Commissioner to determine what they review within their remit of medicines and medical devices.

Carers: Mental Health Services

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many carers accessed the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-2020 and (c) 2020-21.

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the recovery rate was for carers accessing the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the treatment completion rate was for carers accessing the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The data is not held in the format requested. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies data set does not record whether the person accessing therapies is a carer.

Mental Illness

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the harm caused to people with mental health conditions when support is delayed until those people have severe problems.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such assessment has been made.Under our mental health recovery action plan, the National Health Service will receive a further £500 million in this financial year to address waiting times for mental health services, to give more people the mental health support they need and to invest in the NHS workforce. This is in addition to the extra £2.3 billion invested in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by 2023/24.

Department of Health and Social Care: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Edward Argar: The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence. The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to hon. Members from Government departments and agencies. This data will be released and made available to Members in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when recipients of the Janssen covid-19 vaccination will be able to see the record of their vaccination on the NHS app.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people are not eligible for the proposed vaccination passports due to their participation in the Novavax trial.

Nadhim Zahawi: Those participating in United Kingdom vaccination trials can request a letter from the trial they are participating in to confirm their vaccination status, which will include vaccine type and dose information. The Government is exploring how vaccine information for those on clinical trials can be linked to the NHS App, as well as to a non-digital solution.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish the Government’s Vaccine Strategy.

Nadhim Zahawi: The vaccine strategy is being refreshed to reflect new developments from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the extended National Health Service flu programme. The vaccine strategy will be published in due course.

Continuing Care: Children and Young People

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children and young people had NHS continuing care packages in each NHS clinical commissioning group area in England in each year from 2015-16 to 2020-21 inclusive.

Helen Whately: The data requested is not held centrally.

Integrated Care Systems

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2020 to Question 175901, on Health Services and Social Services: Standards, whether private companies will be permitted to undertake roles on Integrated Care System NHS Boards.

Edward Argar: The proposed legislation will set out minimum membership of the integrated care board (ICB) and will need to include representatives from National Health Service trusts, primary medical care and local authorities. Local areas can, by local agreement, go beyond the legislative minimum requirements in order to address their specific needs and detail further board members in their constitutions. Private providers of NHS services are not excluded from the ICB, but we expect this to be agreed in the constitution. This would be subject to local agreement and would need to be approved by NHS England. In every case, ICBs will be required to have clear and robust arrangements to declare and manage potential conflicts of interest.

Medical Treatments: Innovation

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the forthcoming NHS Bill will support patients' ability to receive the most effective therapeutic innovations as early as possible in their treatment.

Edward Argar: The upcoming Health and Social Care Bill will build on the work of the National Health Service to support integration, joint working and the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan.It will put integrated care systems on a statutory footing focusing resources on effective treatments and innovations and working to streamline referral and patient pathways as far as possible. This will support the NHS to deliver the most effective therapeutic innovations as early as possible.

Department for Education

Free School Meals: West Yorkshire

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in West Yorkshire were eligible for the free school meals voucher scheme during its operation.

Vicky Ford: According to the census data for 2020: in West Yorkshire there were 76,940 (19.9%) pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals in the spring of 2020 and 85,738 (22.4%) pupils eligible in the autumn of 2020. This year’s spring census is due to be published in June 2021.During the periods of school opening restrictions, we continued to provide extra funding to support schools to provide food parcels or vouchers to pupils who were eligible for benefits-related free school meals and who were required to stay at home during term time.Guidance was in place allowing schools to decide the best approach for their pupils. School leaders know their communities best and were given flexibility to select the most appropriate support for their pupils.  This could have been through lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers or through the national voucher scheme.Now schools are fully open, all children should be able to access a nutritious meal at school, free to those that are eligible for free school meals. Where pupils eligible for benefits related free school meals are required to stay at home, schools should work with their school catering team or food provider to offer good quality lunch parcels. This is the same arrangement that was in place throughout the autumn term.

Universities: Social Distancing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether directors of public health will be able to determine whether staggering the start of the term is required based on the covid-19 social distancing measures put in place by universities for September 2021.

Michelle Donelan: Universities have worked extremely hard to ensure their facilities are COVID-secure and are as safe as possible for students to return to campus. As autonomous institutions it is for universities to determine their own provision, including arrangements for the start of term, taking account of any government guidance.We expect universities to work closely with local Directors of Public Health, particularly on their plans for managing outbreaks, to keep students and staff as safe as possible.The government will announce further easing of restrictions at Step 4 of the roadmap, including the outcome of the review of social distancing measures, which will be no earlier than 21 June 2021. In light of these developments, we will continue to work with the sector via the mission groups and the Higher Education Taskforce on plans for the autumn, taking account of the latest public health advice. We will update the higher education guidance in due course to support the return of students for the new academic year.

Respite Care

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding additional respite care for the families of disabled children to alleviate exhaustion and social isolation.

Vicky Ford: We believe it is right for local authorities, who know their areas’ needs best, to determine what services are required locally. Respite care services for disabled children are provided on the basis of an individual assessment of each child and family’s needs, and it is right that this individual focus continues. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have ensured that respite care services for disabled children and their families have been allowed to continue to operate. This applies to services which care for children in and away from home. Where parents have a disabled child under the age of 5, they can also establish a support bubble with another household to provide respite care.To support local areas, the government has given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services.In addition to statutory services, we are providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in financial year 2021-22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.We are also providing £200 million for all secondary schools, including specialist settings, to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs but the government is suggesting they may want to initially target incoming year 7 pupils, as well as pupils who may benefit from increased support, which includes disabled children and those with special educational needs. This is alongside wider support funded through our Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the country.

Overseas Students: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing international students to quarantine at their university on arrival in the UK.

Michelle Donelan: International students are a vital and valued part of our higher education sector. I speak regularly with my counterparts across government about how various COVID-19 policies may affect students with a view to minimising burdens for students while maintaining public health, and I have remained in close contact with ministers at the Department of Health and Social Care who are responsible for the Managed Quarantine Service.Hotel quarantine is in place for all travellers that have travelled from or through a red-list country to prevent the spread of potentially harmful COVID-19 variants in the UK, and there is a need to have strict rules in place to prevent the vaccine effort from being undermined.We have worked closely with the sector and colleagues across the government to ensure that UK residents (including international students due to their visa status), that are facing significant financial hardship will have the opportunity to apply for a deferred repayment plan when booking their managed quarantine hotel room. Travellers who access hardship will be referred to a Government debt collection agency (“Qualco”), who will perform an independent financial assessment and determine an appropriate payment plan.Any student who is experiencing financial hardship can speak with their provider about support. We have made an additional £85 million of student hardship funding available to higher education providers in the 2020/21 academic year. This is in addition to the £256 million of government funded student premium funding already available to higher education providers to draw on for this academic year, 2020/21, and this support can include help for students, including international students and postgraduates. International students can be confident in expressing these concerns to their provider without any impact on their immigration status.

Ministry of Justice

Domestic Abuse: Victims

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that family lawyers sufficiently support victims of domestic abuse through the family courts process.

Kit Malthouse: The use of legal representation in family proceedings for victims of domestic abuse is governed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 which sets out that legal aid funded representation is available for domestic abuse victims in some private family proceedings, subject to providing the required evidence and meeting the means and merits tests. Whilst the legal profession in England and Wales is independent of government, all lawyers must comply with strict codes of conduct set by their independent regulators, such as the Bar Standards Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and CILEx Regulation. These codes of conduct make clear that lawyers must act in the best interests of their clients at all times as well as honouring their responsibilities as officers of the court. For example, the SRA specifically provides guidance for legal professionals on expectations in dealing with victims of domestic abuse and vulnerable consumers.For those victims who do not qualify for legal aid representation, we are providing £800k until 2022, to the Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors (FLOWS) project, run by RCJ advice. FLOWS provide free legal support to victims of domestic abuse who wish to apply for an emergency protective order from the courts. The funding is used to provide a helpline and email service for domestic abuse victims, where they can be referred to a legal aid solicitor to assist them with making their application. Victims can also receive free advice directly from FLOWS legal team if they are ineligible for legal aid.This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone gets the timely support they need to navigate the justice system and is currently conducting a review of the means test for legal aid. This review is assessing the effectiveness with which the means test protects access to justice, and we are specifically considering the experiences of victims of domestic abuse, including where there has been economic abuse. As part of the review, we have explicitly committed to look at the capital thresholds for victims of domestic abuse, which will include considering how assets are assessed for means testing purposes. We plan to conclude the review in late 2021, at which point we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposal.The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 goes even further to support victims of domestic abuse that are proceeding through Family Courts. This Act prohibits cross-examination of victims by perpetrators. It also provides automatic eligibility for special measures for victims of domestic abuse . This includes the use of video links and screens so as victims do not have to see potential abusers.As we implement DA Act provisions in the family courts, we will work with all professionals, including family lawyers, to ensure they are ready to support victims to benefit fully from additional measures as soon as they come into force.

Domestic Abuse: Victims

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative data his Department holds on the number of criminal cases involving domestic abuse in which there has been victim attrition in the year ending March (a) 2020 and (b) 2021.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not hold data directly on “victim attrition”. No data is available centrally for the Magistrates Court. The closest data available relates to trials that are cracked due to witness absence/withdrawal at the Crown Court. A cracked trial refers to a trial that does not go ahead on the planned day as an outcome is reached in advance and so does not need to be re-scheduled. This occurs when either an acceptable plea is offered by the defendant, or the prosecution offers no evidence against the defendant. Our data relates to ‘Violence against the person’ as opposed to ‘domestic abuse’, as a domestic abuse flag is not available within our datasets. Just over one-third (35%) of the 1,680,884 ‘violence against the person’ offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2020 were domestic abuse-related (ONS, year ending March 2020). As the next publication of this data is not until June, the PQ cannot be answered comparatively at this point. The MoJ can however provide alternative comparative data on the number of criminal cases involving ‘violence against the person’. The latest data relating to January-December 2019 and January-December 2020 was published in December 2020 and shows: Between January-December 2019, 224 ‘violence against the person’ trials were cracked due to witness absence/withdrawal at the Crown Court (Ministry of Justice trial effectiveness data).Between January-December 2020, there were 94 cracked trials for this reason; a 58% decrease. This coincides with a 24% decrease in the total number of trials in the same period (from 11,510 in Jan-Dec 2019 to 8,784 in Jan-Dec 2020).The proportion of ‘violence against the person’ trials becoming cracked due to witness absence/withdrawal increased by one percentage point between Jan-Dec 2019 and Jan-Dec 2020 (from 8% to 9% of cracked trials).N.B. cracked trials data relates to trials which become cracked only on the day of trial and does not include trials which fall through before this day.

Domestic Abuse: Victims

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help victims of domestic abuse access support services in the criminal justice system.

Kit Malthouse: Addressing domestic abuse and improving support and outcomes for victims is a top priority for the government. In 2021-22, the Ministry of Justice will provide just under £151m for victim and witness support services. This includes an extra £51m to increase support for rape and domestic abuse victims, building on the emergency funding from the last financial year to help domestic abuse and sexual violence services meet Covid-driven demand. The funding will improve access to support services including local community based support for domestic violence victims and introducing over 400 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs).

Judiciary: Training

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training members of the judiciary have received on working on cases involving domestic abuse in the last 12 months.

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many judges attended training in relation to working on cases which involve domestic abuse in the most recent period for which figures are available; and whether that training was (a) delivered by specialist domestic abuse organisations and (b) evaluated for its effect on those who undertook that training.

Chris Philp: To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. These responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College. The judiciary and professional staff in the Judicial College are responsible for the design, content, and delivery of judicial training.Judicial training in domestic abuse is included in family law and criminal courses run by the Judicial College. It is prioritised for induction and continuation training for judges. All judges must complete their induction training before they can hear such cases. During the 2020/21 training year all judges newly appointed to sit in crime and family received this training. The training is undertaken by judges of all levels, and speakers and tutors range from district judges to judges from the Court of Appeal and the training always includes lectures from academics and experts in psychiatry, psychology and other professions and agencies working to address domestic abuse.The training reflects the wide nature of domestic abuse and covers all areas recognised by the Government as abuse, ranging from serious sexual and other assaults, emotional abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, including financial coercion and control. Training is kept under constant review and is regularly updated to reflect latest developments.

Ministry of Justice: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence. The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Nepal: Coronavirus

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what requests he has received from the Government of Nepal for oxygen-related equipment and medical supplies in respect of the covid-19 outbreak in that country.

Nigel Adams: On 28 May, the FCDO sent 260 ventilators and 2000 visors (worth £550,000) in response to a request for medical supplies from the Government of Nepal. Moreover, since the beginning of the pandemic, the British Embassy in Kathmandu has helped Nepal respond to COVID-19 by reprioritising over £40 million of its aid budget. This support has included the construction of an oxygen plant in a Kathmandu hospital; technical advice to local government on managing the impact of COVID-19; water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to support around 300,000 people; safe spaces for women in isolation centres; cash and voucher assistance for the most vulnerable; and nutrition support for pregnant and lactating women. On 19 May, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, discussed with Foreign Minister Gyawali how the UK could continue to support Nepal's fight against the second wave of COVID-19. The UK is also a leading donor to COVAX, having committed £548m to the scheme. COVAX has allocated 2,000,000 vaccine doses to Nepal, of which 348,000 have already been delivered.

Developing Countries: Education

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction in Official Development Assistance spending on education on the Prime Minister's ability to use the G7 to support global education.

Wendy Morton: 2021 is a year of UK leadership on the world stage, including on girls' education. Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new, global, SDG 4 milestone targets on girls' education on 5 May - 40 million more girls in school by 2025 in low and lower-middle income countries; and 20 million more girls reading by age 10, or the end of primary school in low and lower- middle-income countries by 2025. We are calling on the world to help deliver these objectives, working in partnership with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups, and youth leaders. The Prime Minister is calling on G7 Leaders to re-endorse our two targets in the Leaders' Communique, and to make ambitious financial pledges to the Global Partnership for Education.The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) will spend a total of £400 million on girls' education in this financial year. This very substantial sustained investment of UK ODA is only one of our tools in achieving our ambitions.

Taiwan: Coronavirus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent conversations he has had with his counterpart from Taiwan on the cause of a recent increase in cases of covid-19 in that country.

Nigel Adams: Taiwan has had one of the lowest incidences of Covid-19 in the world since the outbreak of the pandemic. We are now engaging with the relevant authorities locally through the British Office in Taipei as it faces its first significant occurrence of community transmission of the virus. We will continue to work with all of our international partners to deliver a strong global response.

India: Amphotericin B

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether India has requested supplies of amphotericin B from the UK.

Nigel Adams: The Government of India requested supplies of amphotericin B on 19 May. The UK Government does not hold stockpiles of amphotericin B, therefore cannot directly assist. In line with the extensive scientific and medical collaboration already underway, on 25 May India's Chief Scientist held a virtual meeting with Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance. In this meeting, they discussed research insights as well as identifying and mitigating risks in relation to black fungus.As the Prime Minister has said, we stand side by side with India as a friend and partner in the fight against COVID-19, and send our solidarity and condolences to the Indian people at this difficult time. The UK has worked closely with the Indian Government to put together a package focusing on India's most urgent needs, including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and oxygen generating units. The latest shipment was delivered on 9 May, which brought the total package of equipment to 495 oxygen concentrators, 1,200 ventilators and three oxygen generating units.

Overseas Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Written Statement of 21 April 2021 on FCDO update, whether reductions to Official Development Assistance will effect UK Aid Match grants.

Nigel Adams: I am pleased to have been able to protect the UK Aid Match programme, including all active and provisional grants. However, in response to the seismic impact of COVID-19 on the UK economy we have deferred start dates of the provisional grants under round 4 to 1 April 2022. The latest round 5 of UK Aid Match is progressing as planned with the expectation that successful projects would start after 1 April 2023.

Yang Hua

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the treatment of Pastor Yang Hua of Living Stone Church by Chinese authorities.

Nigel Adams: We are concerned by reports that Pastor Yang Hua of Living Stone Church was recently attacked by Chinese officials. We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We believe that societies which aim to guarantee freedom of religion or belief are more stable, prosperous and more resilient against violent extremism. We will continue to raise our concerns around freedom of religion or belief with the Chinese authorities.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response with the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Nigel Adams: The Government recognises the great importance of effective and timely handling of Ministerial correspondence.The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Parliamentarians from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak dated 18 March 2021, referenced RL20521.

Nigel Adams: A response to this letter was sent on 25 May 2021.

Spain: Undocumented Migrants

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion his Department has had with its counterpart in Spain on illegal crossings of its border at Ceuta.

Wendy Morton: FCDO officials discuss a range of issues with the Spanish authorities, including on migration, on a regular basis. We continue to monitor developments around the recent influx of illegal migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

Global Partnership for Education: Finance

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to use the Global Partnership for Education replenishment fund to help ensure that there is equitable education financing for the most marginalised children, including children with disabilities.

Wendy Morton: The UK has made strong commitments on inclusive education for children with disabilities, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is an important vehicle for improving mainstream education systems to be inclusive of all learners. The Prime Minister and President Kenyatta of Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit: Financing the Global Partnership for Education in London this July. A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering the two global objectives endorsed by G7 Foreign and Development Ministers - to get 40 million more girls in school, and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years.As one of the biggest donors to GPE, the UK has been instrumental in ensuring equity and gender is hardwired throughout GPE's new strategy for 2025. During the pandemic, GPE funding has targeted the most marginalised children, with 54 countries including interventions for children with disabilities and special needs in their Emergency Response Plans. For example, in Nepal, fast-tracked GPE funding guaranteed accessible remote learning content with captioning, interpretation, and inclusive examples that do not stigmatize.

Colombia: Police Brutality

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart in respect of human rights abuses reported to have been committed by Colombian police during protests in April and May 2021.

Wendy Morton: The UK Government remains concerned about reports of human rights violations in Colombia, and we have raised our concerns with the relevant state actors in Colombia since the recent protests began. We are clear that we support the right of all Colombians to protest peacefully, and that the right to peaceful assembly and association must be guaranteed.Most recently, I spoke with then acting Foreign Minister Adriana Mejía on 14 May to express my concerns, and welcome Colombia's commitment to transparent investigations into allegations of excessive use of force. Security services must be held accountable for their actions, with all complaints being thoroughly investigated.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Leo Docherty: The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence.The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. Members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.

Disinformation and Hacking: Security

Gareth Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to upgrade British cyber security capabilities in response to misinformation and wide-scale hacking by malign state sponsored entities.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes cyber security and resilience very seriously and conducts a range of activities to ensure its systems are protected against attack from malign state and non-state actors. As a result of the Integrated Review settlement, the MOD is increasing its already substantial investment in defensive cyber capabilities. These are delivered through three dedicated programmes: Defensive Cyber Operations, Cyber Resilience Programme and the Joint Crypt Key Programme. The MOD continues to work closely with industry and partners across Government, especially the National Cyber Security Centre. To guard against disinformation, Defence provides support to the cross-departmental Counter Disinformation Unit's campaigns. This work is led by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage employers to advertise the benefits of joining the armed forces reserves to their staff.

James Heappey: We work closely with employers to generate and maintain their support for the Reserve Forces. Employers can advertise the benefits of joining the Reserves to their employees if they wish, but we do not ask them to do so. Joining the Reserves cannot be a condition of employment, except where we have a contractual arrangement with a company to provide Sponsored Reserves to deliver a military capability.Defence generates employer support for the Reserves through tailored engagement and clear communication of the benefits they can derive from being supportive. There is mutual benefit for employers and Defence when organisations are supportive of the employment of reservists. When Reservists are confident that their qualities are valued by employers, they are less likely to look for a new job with a more supportive employer.

Animal Experiments: Porton Down

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many experiments were conducted on animals by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory on behalf of his Department in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.

Jeremy Quin: Animal experiments are regulated by the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). Under ASPA, "animal experiments" are referred to as "scientific procedures". In accordance with ASPA, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) makes an annual report of scientific procedures to the Home Office. The numbers of scientific procedures using animals conducted at Dstl in 2019 was 1,500 and in 2020 the figure was 1,194. Animal experiments at present remain a necessary part of Defence research and enable Dstl to develop protective measures for the UK and its Armed Forces that save lives. Examples of protective measures are vaccines and treatments that prevent or reduce the effects of exposure to chemical and biological agents and treatments for traumatic injuries. Dstl does not conduct animal experiments for the development or testing of offensive weapons and the Home Office does not grant licences for these purposes.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many reviews the Government has undertaken after people claiming benefits have died or come to serious harm; and of those reviews how many have (a) concluded and (b) commenced following a Prevention of Future Death report.

Justin Tomlinson: Internal Process Reviews form a core part of the Department’s overall approach to investigating the circumstances of a case where potential issues have been identified.We have made significant improvements to Internal Process Reviews, which including forming the Internal Process Review Group, chaired by the Customer Experience Director in 2020, to established to increase oversight of IPRs at a more senior level.We are improving the tracking and monitoring of improvements from all IPRs to ensure IPR reports are now being drafted to new consistent standards, raising the visibility of IPRs across the Department. DWP have undertaken 4 Peer Reviews and 139 Internal Process Reviews involving either a customer death or serious harm from the operational year 2015-16 to date.The Department replaced Peer Reviews with Internal Process Reviews in 2015. Due to the Department’s document retention policies, we do not hold a complete record of cases prior to 2015-16. The Department has commenced and concluded 2 Internal Process Reviews following receipt of a Prevention of Future Death Report.

Job Entry Targeted Support

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have enrolled on the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) programme in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland, broken down by region, since its inception; and how many of those people have gained employment as a result of that programme.

Mims Davies: Up to the end of April 2021 there have been 94,560 starts on the Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) scheme in England and Wales (launched 5 October 2020) and 3,795 starts on JETS Scotland (launched 25 January 2021). By region: JETS England & WalesTotal StartsCentral9,790North East26,615North West8,470Southern12,925Home Counties8,630Greater Manchester6,160Central London5,415West London2,610South London2,305Local London6,315Wales5,325Total England & Wales94,560JETS Scotland3,795Total98,360 So far there have been 12,665 job outcomes in England and Wales, and 160 job outcomes for JETS Scotland (a job outcome is defined as when an individual achieves £1000 cumulative earnings within eight months of starting). By region: JETS England & WalesTotal employment OutcomesCentral1,160North East3,600North West1,430Southern1,760Home Counties1,090Greater Manchester915Central London570West London360South London325Local London680Wales770Total England & Wales12,665JETS Scotland160Total12,825  It should be noted that JETS provides support for up to six months and many people who have started on the scheme will not yet have had time to achieve a job outcome.

State Retirement Pensions: National Insurance Contributions

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women (i) built up a qualifying year towards the state pension by paying National Insurance Contributions, (ii) built up a qualifying year towards the state pension through National Insurance credits and (iii) did not build up a qualifying year towards the state pension in (A) 2011-12 and (B) the latest year for which figures are available.

Guy Opperman: We do not have the specific data. However, the Local Labour Market Statistics of 2019 provides us with a 1% sample data. If that was to be scaled to 100% the probability is that the 100% data would show the following: The tables below show a breakdown of how qualifying years were built up for the tax years 2011/12 and 2018/19. 2011/12 MaleFemaleTotalNI Contributions only13,851,20011,157,10025,008,300NI Credits only2,352,6003,047,5005,400,100NI Contributions and Credits445,700840,2001,285,900Total16,649,50015,044,80031,694,300No full qualifying year2,546,6002,027,5004,574,100  2018/19 MaleFemaleTotalNI Contributions only13,863,40012,378,800 26,242,200 NI Credits only1,518,9002,918,300 4,437,200 NI Contributions and Credits210,300682,700 893,000 Total 15,592,600  15,979,800  31,572,400 No full qualifying year2,168,9002,017,1004,186,000 The line ‘NI Contributions and Credits’ indicates where a qualifying year includes some periods of contributions and some of credits within the year. The line ‘No full qualifying year’ refers to those individuals who may have had some contributions or credits recorded, but did not build a qualifying year in the respective years.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support research on methods to mitigate or reduce emissions in farming.

Victoria Prentis: While emissions in farming is a broad topic, the question is assumed to concern greenhouse gas emissions only, and I am responding accordingly. The Prime Minister has been clear that tackling climate change is a priority for this Government. Since 1990 emissions from agriculture have reduced by 13%.The Government is investing to unlock innovation and translate our world leading research into practical farmer-led solutions that improve the productivity, sustainability and resilience of agriculture. This includes reducing emissions from farming.Our £90 million investment in the ‘Transforming Food Production’ (TFP) challenge, launched in 2018, is supporting ground breaking research and development so farmers will be able to harness the latest technology to produce high quality food, increase their productivity and move towards net zero emission farming systems by 2040. This will put the UK at the forefront of advanced sustainable agriculture and food production while reducing emissions, pollution, waste and soil erosion.This initiative is enhanced by a recently launched Defra-funded collaborative agricultural Research and Development competition ‘Farming Innovation Pathways’) with an additional £12 million of funding targeting existing and new farm focused innovation, which will also be delivered through the TFP initiative.From 2022 a new Research and Development funding programme for England will build on the success of TFP as part of the proposed measures to stimulate innovation and boost productive, sustainable, low emissions agriculture as we move away from the CAP system of farming subsidy payments.

Animal and Plant Health Agency: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the (a) income, (b) expenditure and (c) grant income of the Animal and Plant Health Agency for the 2021-22 financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: The budgeted income, expenditure and grant income for APHA is as follows: Estimate (£m)2021/22a) Operating Income76b) Operating Expenditure289c) Grant Income0

Animal and Plant Health Agency: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) the income, (b) expenditure and (c) grant income was for the Animal and Plant Health Agency in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: The income, expenditure and grant income for APHA is as follows: Actuals (£m)2020/212019/202018/192017/182016/17a) Operating Income6472727462b) Operating Expenditure263248245227217c) Grant Income00000

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak dated 26 March 2021, referenced RL20503.

Rebecca Pow: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 28 May 2021.

Rural Areas: Crime

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what new funding is available to farmers in England to help them to introduce crime prevention measures to help reduce rural crime.

Rebecca Pow: Defra’s new Farming Investment Fund is intended to help farmers improve their business performance rather than support crime prevention measures. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund will provide smaller grants grant to allow farmers to buy items from a set list of equipment and technology. The Farming Transformation Fund will support larger or more complicated investments. Defra will publish full eligibility guidance in the coming months.

Rural Areas: Crime

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with West Mercia Police and Crime and Commissioner on steps to reduce (a) vehicle theft, (b) livestock theft and (c) other rural crime.

Rebecca Pow: My Rt Hon. Friend the Environment Secretary has not recently met the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner. We recognise that there can be particular challenges in responding to rural crime. In particular, we are aware that dog attacks on livestock are a serious and growing concern to rural communities, police forces and farmers. To address this, we recently set out in “Our Action Plan for Animal Welfare”, published on 12 May, that we will legislate to ensure that new powers are available to the police so they can respond to the most serious incidents of livestock worrying.

Animal Welfare: Charities

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish details of the Government's targeted investment for animal welfare charities.

Victoria Prentis: The Government shares the public's high regard and appreciation for the important work that our animal welfare charities undertake. This extends to the valuable work of their many supporters and volunteers. We remain committed to deliver our Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The Government has made a range of support measures available to businesses and charities across the UK since the emergence of COVID-19, including those charities protecting animal welfare. This includes comprehensive guidance issued by the Charity Commission on running a charity during COVID-19. Meanwhile it has been encouraging to see the sector working collaboratively and successfully to support itself, establishing various emergency grants schemes for numerous smaller organisations. While organisations have seen a drop in income during the pandemic, the financial sustainability of the sector appears to be improving. We will continue to engage closely with the sector and keep the situation under review.

Catering: Regulation

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 179265 on Catering: Regulation, whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals on allergen labelling in restaurant menus, similar to regulations on pre-packaged food under Natasha's law.

Victoria Prentis: The Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019 No 1218 (known as ‘Natasha’s Law’) comes into force on 1 October this year. These Regulations were consulted on widely and a range of options considered. The option that was decided upon provides a higher level of protection for people living with food hypersensitivity. The amendment Regulations mean that food known as ‘prepacked for direct sale’ food must be labelled with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergens emphasised, from 1 October 2021. The Government has no plans at present to extend these regulations to cover mandatory ingredient labelling on restaurant menus. The Food Standards Agency, which leads on policy on food safety including food allergies, is open to understanding what is possible and practical in this area although any proposed changes will need to be evidence driven. All businesses supplying food, whether prepacked, prepacked for direct sale or sold loose, must be able to provide accurate information on allergens to customers. The Government has committed to review food labelling. This will include careful consideration of how food labelling might contribute to the outcomes of the National Food Strategy, which is looking in detail at creating a better food system.

Export Health Certificates

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Export Health Certificates to be used in total for 2021; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: Estimates of the total number of Export Health Certificates (EHC) required following the end of the Transition Period, indicated that up to 300k additional EHCs would be needed for GB-EU trade, and up to 480k per annum when GB-NI and GB-Rest of World Trade were included. From 01 Jan 2021 to 25 May, the Animal and Plant Health Agency has issued in the region of 71k EHCs for GB-EU trade and in the region of 88k in total. For the same period there were c.11k certificates issued for GB-NI.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the French and German Governments' decision to end the killing of day-old male chicks in the egg production sector; whether the Government plans to bring forward similar legislative proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and we continue to explore ways to enhance our position as a global leader. The killing of day-old male chicks from the egg production sector is used to provide a valuable food source for reptiles and raptors. We are aware that alternatives to culling male laying hen chicks are currently being investigated by a number of research establishments around the world. A few systems are being used in commercial hatcheries in some EU countries, including France and Germany, but are not yet scaled up enough to meet the demands of the entire industry. We will be assessing the success of these systems.

Plastics: Recycling

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of plastic packaging used in the UK has been recycled in the UK in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of plastic packaging used in the UK has been exported in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that rubbish exported from the UK to be recycled is not dumped in unregulated and illegal sites; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the amount of UK plastic waste that is exported for disposal; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to disincentivise the production, sale and use of single-use plastics; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: It is illegal under retained EU law to export UK waste for disposal to countries outside the European Union and the European Free Trade Area. Individuals and businesses found to be exporting waste in contravention of the requirements of the UK legislation can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine. In addition, the export of UK waste for disposal to EU/ EFTA countries is generally prohibited, save for the strictly limited exceptions which are laid out in the UK Plan for Shipments of Waste. Proposed updates to the Plan were consulted upon earlier this year and the revised UK Plan will be published next month. The UK Government is committed to banning the export of plastic waste for recycling to countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Government will consult on this measure and work is underway to make this happen.The UK environmental regulators take a pro-active, intelligence led approach to checking compliance with the legislation on waste shipments, targeting exports which pose a high risk and intervening to stop illegal exports taking place. In 2019-20 the Environment Agency (EA) stopped 1,889 containers at ports and intervened at waste loading sites, preventing the illegal export of 463 containers comprising 22,688 tonnes of waste. In addition, the regulators undertake rigorous checks to ensure businesses accredited as exporters of packaging waste under the Packaging Waste Regulations comply with their conditions of accreditation, this includes verifying evidence that exported waste is recycled. Conditions of accreditation have been tightened to require an exporter to provide the EA with full details of the final overseas reprocessing sites receiving packaging waste it exports and to provide access to export documentation to prove that the material reached or was accepted by these overseas reprocessing sites. In 2020 the EA cancelled the accreditation of 4 exporters and suspended 7 accreditations Government is consulting currently on reforms to the packaging producer responsibility system which includes proposals for new requirements on those exporting packaging waste for recycling. We are also taking action to reduce the volume of waste generated in the first place. The Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) for England, published in December 2018, sets out the Government’s plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the life of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster - which is why we have committed to work towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. We also committed to introducing electronic waste tracking to help us understand where waste is within the system. That will help to tackle illegal movements and misdescription of waste. We have made significant progress, by introducing one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and have significantly reduced the use of single-use carrier bags by the main supermarket retailers by 95% with our 5p charge. The charge increased to 10p and was extended to all businesses on 21 May 2021. In October 2020, we introduced measures to restrict the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/ or materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products, including problematic packaging materials. Furthermore, from April 2022, plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled content will be subject to a tax of £200/tonne. Further details on the development of this tax can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax/plastic-packaging-tax#detailed-proposal. Our Environment Bill will enable us to significantly change the way that we manage our waste and implement proposals from the Resources and Waste Strategy. The Bill includes powers to create extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes; introduce deposit return schemes (DRS); establish greater consistency in the recycling system; better control the export of plastic waste; and to set new charges for other single-use plastic items. Our approach is focused on encouraging greater uptake of reusable alternatives and increasing supply and demand for secondary materials to be recycled in the UK. We have set new targets for plastic packaging to be recycled (to 2023) and we are currently consulting on a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for packaging, and our proposals for greater consistency in household and business recycling. Statistics on Plastic Packaging Data (tonnes)  Total placed on the market (PoM)Total recyclingUK recyclingExport% Exported20192,472,3171,141,316447,078690,63161%20182,361,0001,034,410384,848649,56263%20172,260,0001,044,363358,467685,89666%20162,260,0001,015,226330,731684,49567%20152,260,000891,141327,591563,55063%

Seasonal Workers: Pilot Schemes

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 7 October 2020 to Question 96849, on Seasonal Workers: Pilot Schemes, when he plans to (a) conclude and (b) publish the findings of the evaluation of the Seasonal Workers Pilot.

Victoria Prentis: We intend to publish the findings from the first year of the Seasonal Workers Pilot scheme in the coming months.

Agriculture: Methane

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce methane emissions from agriculture.

Victoria Prentis: Agriculture accounts for around 10% of the UK's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emissions from methane (54%) and nitrous oxide (32%) make up the bulk of agriculture's GHG emissions. The most significant sources of emissions are due to enteric fermentation from livestock and from the use of fertilisers on agricultural soils.Achieving our net zero target is a priority for the Government, and we are developing a range of measures to address it through the Agriculture Act, our future farming policy, the 25 Year Environment Plan, and our response to Henry Dimbleby's Independent Review of the food system and national food strategy review. All of these are aimed at enabling farmers to optimise sustainable food production, reduce emissions from agriculture and allow consumer choices to drive those changes. We are also introducing three schemes that reward environmental benefits: The Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. Together, these schemes are intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and our commitment to Net Zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy. Through these schemes, farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering public goods, including adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. We recognise the contribution to GHG emissions made by the livestock and dairy sectors. Defra has worked with industry to reduce emissions through improved productivity and has already made progress in this space. Defra works with the NFU, CLA and other industry partners to support the industry led Greenhouse Gas Action Plan. We also continue to work in partnership with industry partners including AHDB on breeding strategies to reduce emissions from ruminant livestock, mainly through improved feed efficiency. Defra is exploring the potential for feed additives such as seaweed or methane inhibitors to reduce the environmental impacts of farming.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support Higher Level Stewardship agreement holders transition to new environmental land management schemes.

Victoria Prentis: Where appropriate we are extending those Higher Level Stewardship agreements into 2022, and we are looking at how best to extend these further over the agricultural transition period. Agreement holders who are not offered an extension are encouraged to apply to Countryside Stewardship. When the new environmental land management schemes are fully rolled out, we will make sure there is a smooth transition for those in existing agri-environment schemes or involved in our pilots.

Plants: Biodiversity

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the importance of (a) the Alcea collection and (b) other national plant collections to preserving the biodiversity of plants in the UK.

Rebecca Pow: Defra values these national collections and the role they play in conservation. The Charity ‘Plant Heritage’ oversees the National Plant Collections and has a particular focus on rare cultivars, promoting the UK's horticultural heritage and engaging the public. The UK's first Alcea (Hollyhock) National Plant Collection in Lincolnshire is one of around 650 collections nationally. The Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew, which is a Defra arm's length body, is also a holder of some of these national collections. RBG Kew's Wakehurst National Collections like Nothofagus (southern beech) and Betula (birch) come from a range of global locations and may offer valuable indications of which species could be fit and functional in the long-term, in the face of biotic and abiotic threats. For instance, incorporation of the southern beech into our tree planting programmes could help to ensure functional future woodlands.

Animal Welfare: Fines

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, further to plans announced in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, what animal cruelty offences could be penalised with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Victoria Prentis: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. As set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare and as part of an effort to promote high welfare standards, we want to ensure that proportional, targeted, transparent and consistent penalties are available to complement other existing sanctions; such as warnings, improvement notices and prosecution already established by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and other animal welfare related legislation. Penalty Notices (PNs) would cover a wide range of offences included in the Animal Health Act, Animal Welfare Act and the parts of the European Communities Act covered by the Withdrawal Act. For the worst cases of harm and suffering experienced by animals – criminal prosecutions would still be the correct course of action. In other cases, PNs would be the proportionate response. An example of where Penalty Notices (PNs) could be used is in the case of overstocking in laying hens, which impacts the welfare of hens. Criminal prosecution is often disproportionate, so beyond an improvement notice - this offence is often unchallenged. In such an example, PNs could be used as an effective deterrent.

Food: Waste Disposal

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities undertaking food waste collections.

Rebecca Pow: We want to make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This will help to reduce confusion with recycling, ensure that there is more recycled material in the products we buy and that the UK recycling industry grows. It would also constitute a significant step towards meeting our 25 Year Environment Plan commitment to eliminate avoidable waste by 2050 and contribute towards meeting recycling targets, including our commitment of 65% of municipal (household-like) waste to be recycled by 2035. Following support at public consultation, the Environment Bill stipulates that all local authorities in England must make arrangements for a core set of materials to be collected for recycling from households. This includes a weekly separate food waste collection. On 7 May we published a second consultation seeking further views on recycling consistency, including setting out implementation timelines for food waste collection and asking questions on the provision of caddy liners to householders. Local authorities will be able to decide the end destination for food waste and garden waste, provided that the material is recycled or composted. One option is anaerobic digestion which presents the best environmental outcome for the treatment of unavoidable food waste, due to the generation of biofuel and digestate. Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed and the net additional cost covered by the Government. We are working to assess net additional costs to local authorities and will continue to engage with local authorities on the cost estimates that we have provided in the impact assessment accompanying the second consultation on recycling consistency, as well as the appropriate timing for funding to be provided to local authorities, ahead of introduction of recycling consistency reforms.

Home Office

Cars: Electronic Equipment

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it mandatory for all new cars sold to be fitted with an electronic tracking device.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is tackling vehicle crime as a priority. We continue to work closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and overseen by the Government’s Crime and Justice Taskforce. This includes consideration of how we can reduce the number of vehicles being stolen.

Crime: Costs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the costs associated with levels of crime.

Kit Malthouse: According to the most recently published estimates of the overall costs of crime, the total costs of crime in England and Wales in 2015/16, is estimated to be approximately £50 billion for crimes against individuals and £9 billion for crimes against businesses.The full report can be accessed at The economic and social costs of crime (publishing.service.gov.uk)This Government remains focused on reducing levels of crime, which is why we are recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers, investing £40 million in our work on county lines, £130.5 million on serious violence, and £70 million on neighbourhood crime. Specifically, these investments intend to target and bring to justice county lines gangs, fund enforcement activity in police force areas that see the highest levels of violent crime; as well as to improve public safety in communities who are disproportionately affected by acquisitive crime.Through our targeted activity, we will continue to work with partners to make real progress in reducing levels of crime, and in turn the associated costs it brings.

Drugs: Misuse

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations her Department has received from the (a) Lord Advocate and (b) Crown Office in Scotland on drug consumption rooms.

Kit Malthouse: Parliament received representations from the Lord Advocate on a range of drug policy issues, including drug consumption rooms, as part of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee’s Inquiry into Problem Drug Use in Scotland in 2019. The Government published its response in 2020 and can be found here: Problem drug use in Scotland: Government response to the Committee’s First Report of Session 2019 - Scottish Affairs Committee - House of Commons (parliament.uk). The Home Office has not received any direct representations from the Lord Advocate or the Crown Office on the issue of drug consumption rooms.Tackling drug misuse is a priority for this government and it clear that action is needed across all four nations to reduce the harms caused. We are committed to working across the UK and have regular contact with the Scottish Government at ministerial and official level on this issue. While the legal framework on the misuse of drugs is reserved to the UK, the Scottish Government has its own approach to tackling drug and alcohol misuse in areas where responsibility is devolved, including healthcare, criminal justice, housing, and education.

Animal Experiments: Licensing

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of sharing redacted versions of applications for licences to conduct scientific experiments on animals with organisations that could provide expert advice on alternative scientifically satisfactory methods that do not involve the use of animals.

Victoria Atkins: The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) is the UKs leading independent scientific based organisation dedicated to replacing, refining and reducing the use of animals in scientific research and testing.The NC3Rs primarily exists to support the research community to use the latest science and technology to replace animal studies. This Government will continue to work with the NC3Rs on how best to utilise its expert advice on the delivery of the 3Rs as part of the regulatory process.

Domestic Abuse: Males

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage male victims of domestic abuse to seek support and report that abuse to the police.

Victoria Atkins: This Government is committed to protecting and supporting all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of gender. That is why we recently passed the landmark Domestic Abuse Act, which includes a new definition of domestic abuse in recognition that around one third of domestic abuse victims are male. Additionally, the Statutory Guidance that will accompany the Act will address the impact on male victims and their unique needs and barriers to accessing support. We will be publishing this guidance for consultation shortly.Since 2016/18 the Home Office has provided funding of over £160,000 per year to the Men’s Advice Line run by Respect which supports and advises male victims of domestic abuse. Additional funding of £151,000 was provided to further bolster the helpline during the pandemic.In March 2019 the Home Office published the Male Victims Position Statement which sets out 12 specific commitments to better enable male victims and survivors to come forward and receive necessary support, and to tackle offenders. A copy of the statement can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-unveils-commitments-to-tackle-abuse-against-menSpecific advice has been published on gov.uk for domestic abuse victims during COVID-19 directing them to a range of specialist organisations, including those supporting male victims.We launched the Ask for ANI Codeword Scheme in January, in which 5,000 pharmacies are now participating. This scheme has already helped victims flee abuse, including male victims.

Counter-terrorism: Children

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children under the age of 18 were referred to Prevent in each year between April 2015 and April 2020 by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) religion of the individual referred.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, , how many children under the age of 18 were adopted as a Channel Case in each year between April 2015 and April by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) religion of the individual referred.

Kevin Foster: Since 2012, 2,897 people have been adopted to Prevent’s voluntary and confidential multi-agency Channel programme, which supports people who are vulnerable to exploitation from terrorist influences.Below is data on the gender and age of those under the age of 18 who were referred to Prevent and adopted to Channel. Please note the ‘-‘ symbol has been used where the number of individuals in a category is less than 10.Gender of those under the age of 18 referred to Prevent, 2015/16 to 2019/20 Year Gender2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/20Male2,7992,3673,1162,4952,532Female829550436382373Other----10Unknown----0Total3,6302,9183,5562,8792,915 Gender of those under the age of 18 adopted as a Channel case, 2015/16 to 2019/20 Year Gender2015/162016/172017/182018/192019/20Male191176200282320Female3923133438Other0000-Unknown0000-Total230199213316360 The Channel process is entirely voluntary and those under-18 must have the consent of their parent/guardian to be adopted as a Channel case.Recording the ethnicity and religion of individuals who have been considered as a Channel case is not mandatory on the Home Office Case Management Information System. We therefore only hold partial data on the ethnicity or religion of Prevent referrals and Channel cases. This partial data cannot be released as it would create a misleading and inaccurate picture of the ethnic/religious make-up of Channel referrals aged under 18.

Fraud: Telephones

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of deterrents to prevent phone call and text message financial scams.

Kevin Foster: Fraudulent calls and texts can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society and can provide a gateway to scams, with opportunistic criminals targeting potential victims.The Government is aware we must improve our response to fraud, and we have been working with partners from law enforcement, the public and private sectors to tackle this growing threat. In February, the Economic Crime Strategic Board agreed an ambitious framework for a fraud action plan which will now be developed and will commit key partners in the public sector and industry to do more to tackle fraud.We have also been working with Ofcom to disrupt phoneline enabled scams. Ofcom have adopted new rules relating to Call Line Identification (CLI), which means phone numbers used to perpetrate scams will be identified, filtered out and prevented from reaching the recipient. I would also highlight the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) governs unsolicited live or automated direct marketing calls and imposes strict obligations on organisations which make direct marketing calls to individuals in the UK. The ICO has the powers to impose civil monetary penalties of up to £500,000 for serious contraventions of the PECR.Lastly, to ensure we improve the effectiveness of our response to fraud, the Home Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are in regular discussion with the telecommunication industry on ways to tackle fraud, including text messaging scams known as smishing. In 2019, the Government published a joint public-private Economic Crime Plan which commits us to work in partnership with the private sector to address the vulnerabilities which allows fraud to flourish and to share data and intelligence to better disrupt and prevent fraud. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-crime-plan-2019-to-2022.

Internet: Fraud

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of online scams.

Kevin Foster: The Government recognises the serious risks presented by online scams and fraud and is working collaboratively with law enforcement and the private sector to reaffirm messages to the public setting out how they can protect themselves from fraud and stay safe online.We know one of the best ways to deal with these scams is for the public to be well-informed on how to protect themselves. This is why we published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can be accessed at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime.As well as this, Action Fraud, the national reporting service for all victims of fraud and cybercrime, also regularly provide fraud alerts via their website, which can help individuals raise their awareness of these sorts of scams, and advise on how to combat them:www.actionfraud.police.uk/news.We continue to encourage anybody who suspects an email, text or other form of communication to be suspicious to report it to report@phishing.gov.uk or forward a text to 7726, free of charge.

Visas: EEA Nationals

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the difference in fees in visa applications applying to some EEA and EU member state nationals; and what steps the Government is taking to improve equal treatment of all EEA/EU nationals under the current visa regime.

Kevin Foster: The UK has long standing arrangements in its legislation for the nationals of countries which have ratified the 1961 Council of Europe’s Social Charter (CESC) to qualify for a fee reduction for visa applications to come to work in the UK.Nationals of the 26 countries which have signed and ratified the CESC are eligible for a reduction of £55 to their application fee if they are applying for a visa under a work route. Where the applicant is required to have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from their employer, the CoS can be issued free of charge.Details of the routes which qualify for a reduced fee are published on at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fee-arrangements-for-cesc-nationals/fee-arrangements-for-cesc-nationals.The fee reduction of £55 only applies to the main applicant, it does not apply to dependants.

Royal Mail: Fraud

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with representatives from Royal Mail on the Royal Mail delivery fee text message scam.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Cyber Security Centre Suspicious Email Reporting Service in tackling online scams and frauds.

Kevin Foster: Fraudsters are sophisticated and will exploit any vulnerabilities they can, especially as more of us find ourselves at home and online.To protect the public, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s national technical authority on cyber security, established the Suspicious Email Reporting Service. This service allows the public to report suspicious emails and potential phishing scams more effectively and easily to law enforcement. It has proved an instant success with the public, with over 5.8 million reports received and over 43,000 scams and 84,000 websites taken down since its inception in April 2020. To use the service, suspicious emails should be forwarded to: report@phishing.gov.uk.As well as this, we continue to encourage the public to forward suspicious text messages to 7726 (which is free of charge) and anyone who has been a targeted by a scam to report it. Action Fraud is the national reporting service for all victims of fraud and cybercrime and can be contacted by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud. All of this information is being used by the City of London Police, the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency alongside crime reports to identify, disrupt and stop fraudsters.The Government is also aware of the ongoing scams relating to Royal Mail and the Post Office. We are working closely alongside the City of London Police (the national lead force for fraud) and wider law enforcement to track and mitigate the risk to the public. Royal Mail has issued guidance on how to spot fake emails and communications and what to do if you have received one. More information can be found on the Royal Mail’s website: https://www.royalmail.com/help/scam-examples.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to allocate additional resources to local authorities in London to build affordable and social housing.

Christopher Pincher: London will receive £4.8 billion of the Affordable Homes Programme funding to deliver at least 116,000 affordable housing starts by March 2023, and a further £4 billion to deliver 35,000 new affordable homes by 2026 to help with the acute housing challenge in London. We actively encourage local authorities to put themselves forward and play a key role in the delivery of the Affordable Homes Programmes alongside housing associations.In March we announced that we are giving local authorities in England more freedom on how they spend the money from homes sold through Right to Buy, making it easier for local authorities to fund homes using Right to Buy receipts, including homes for social rent. We encourage local authorities to make the most of the flexibilities available to them to build a new generation of council housing.

Housing: Insulation

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his timescale is for publishing the (a) eligibility for and (b) timetable for implementation of the scheme of Government backed loans to leaseholders for fire safety works in buildings under 18 metres in height announced in February 2021.

Christopher Pincher: Public safety is our first priority and we are working to ensure unsafe cladding is remediated as swiftly as possible. We will publish further details of the finance scheme as soon as we are in a position to do so.

Local Plans: Nature Conservation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on the level of emphasis that should be given to nature recovery networks in local plans developed by local planning authorities; and what weight his Department will attach to local authorities’ consideration of nature recovery networks when deciding whether to approve local plans.

Christopher Pincher: Our existing national planning policy is clear that local plans should take a strategic approach to maintaining and enhancing habitat networks, and identify opportunities to enhance natural capital. Looking to the future, we are determined that our planning reforms will leave an inheritance of environmental improvement, and my Department has been working closely with colleagues in DEFRA so that the implications of the Environment Bill are fully considered with this aim in mind.This includes capitalising on the potential of Local Nature Recovery Strategies and biodiversity net gain as we seek to make the system clearer and more positive. My Department will set out our full policy position in our response to the Planning for the Future White Paper later this year.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans for its proposed financial assistance for people affected by unsafe cladding in properties that are 18 metres and over to be provided to all leaseholders, including those who are (a) owner occupiers and (b) owners of buy-to-let properties; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Pincher: The Government will support leaseholders by funding the cost of replacing unsafe cladding in residential buildings 18 metres and over in England. Leaseholders who are buy-to-let landlords are able to benefit from funding for eligible remediation works, subject to the relevant subsidy control requirements.

Council Housing: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to provide housing options to households on local authority housing waiting lists in London.

Christopher Pincher: Statutory guidance on the allocation of social housing issued in 2012 and updated in 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/allocation-of-accommodation-guidance-for-local-authorities ) encourages all local authorities to adopt a housing options approach as part of a move to a managed waiting list. The guidance recognises that a strong housing options approach brings several benefits, ensuring: that people are offered support to make use of the housing solution which best meets their needs, that expectations about access to social housing are properly managed, and that social housing is focused on those who need it most.

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to allocate additional funding to local welfare assistance schemes.

Luke Hall: Councils have powers to determine the right local welfare assistance schemes for their area Resources made available through the 2020 Spending Review and annual Settlement allowed councils in England access to an overall increase in Core Spending Power from £49 billion in 2020-21 to up to £51.3 billion in 2021-22, a 4.6% increase in cash terms. This is in line with last year’s available increase. This recognises the resources councils need to meet their pressures and maintain current service levels We have also introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to local authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It is now running until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269 million.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many times he has visited families living in social housing; and what steps he will take to fast track the building of social housing.

Christopher Pincher: The Government's Charter for Social Housing Residents (published in November 2020) was informed by an extensive programme of engagement with residents, during which Ministers met almost 1,000 residents at events across England. The Charter includes a clear commitment to ongoing Ministerial engagement with residents, to ensure that residents are kept at the heart of future policymaking. As part of this, the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing met residents of the G15 group of housing associations in May and a programme of face-to-face visits is being planned for when coronavirus restrictions allowThe Government is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing and is investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will leverage up to £38 billion of private finance and provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.

Buildings: Insulation

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans for its proposed loan scheme for people affected by unsafe cladding to be offered to all leaseholders, including those who are (a) owner-occupiers and (b) owners of buy-to-let properties; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Pincher: The new finance scheme which will provide leaseholders with protection from the costs of cladding remediation and limit their payments to £50 per month will be available for leaseholders in residential buildings between 11 and 18 metres. This is line with longstanding independent advice on which buildings are at the highest risk. We will publish further details of the scheme as soon as we are in a position to do so.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register

Feryal Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings he has had with representatives of (a) civil rights organisations, (b) Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups, (c) disability rights groups and (d) interest groups representing elderly people to discuss electoral participation, voter turnout and the proposals set out in the Electoral Integrity Bill since February 2020.

Julia Lopez: The Cabinet Office has worked and continues to work closely with a wide range of charities and civil society organisations to make sure that the proposals in the Elections Bill are implemented in a way that is inclusive for all eligible voters.

Death

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many excess deaths there have been in each month since January 2018.

Julia Lopez: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond. UKSAs response to PQ6359 (pdf, 83.5KB)

Electoral Register: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of people in the Enfield North constituency are (a) currently eligible to vote and (b) registered to vote in each of the last five years by local authority ward.

Julia Lopez: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.UKSAs response to PQ6509  (pdf, 108.2KB)

Treasury

Scottish Government: Borrowing

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Government on requesting additional borrowing powers.

Steve Barclay: The fiscal framework we have agreed with the Scottish Government already includes significant borrowing powers.The Scottish Government can borrow up to £450m per year for capital spending and, in normal times, borrow up to £300m per year to help manage day-to-day spending in relation to tax and welfare forecast error.However, under the terms of the fiscal framework, we are doubling this day-to-day borrowing from £300m to £600m per year in 2021-22 and the following two years.This is on top of the share of UK Government borrowing the Scottish Government receives through the Barnett formula. Since the start of the pandemic the Scottish Government has received an additional £14.5bn of Barnett funding.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate additional resources to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to help clear the backlog of cases awaiting investigation.

Steve Barclay: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s funding is decided by Parliament and sanctioned by HM Treasury. Any additional funding will be a matter for the forthcoming spending review.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Internet: Sales

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to place additional obligations on online marketplaces as part of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill to prevent dangerous and insecure products being sold on those platforms.

Matt Hancock: All connected consumer products sold in the UK will have to comply with the cyber security requirements set out in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill. Where a product is sold on a third party online marketplace, the seller will be responsible for ensuring that the product is compliant. On the wider issue of product safety, the Office for Product Safety and Standards is currently conducting a review of the product safety framework to ensure it is simple, flexible and fit for the future, delivering safety for consumers and supporting businesses to innovate and grow. The Review will consider the impact on product safety of non-traditional business models, including third-party sales conducted online.

Gambling

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to work with the gambling and gaming sector on extending self-exclusion provisions for problem gamblers as part of the gambling review.

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in high street betting shops in Shropshire; and what assessment he plans to make of that level of employment for the gambling review.

Mr John Whittingdale: The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. The Review’s objectives include examining whether changes are needed to the system of gambling regulation to reflect changes to the gambling landscape, to make sure customers are suitably protected wherever they are gambling, and to ensure that there is an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries. The Gambling Commission requires gambling operators to have effective procedures in place for customers who choose to self-exclude. More information is available at: https://gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/LCCP/Licence-conditions-and-codes-of-practice.pdf (Section 3.5). In March 2020, the Commission made it mandatory for online operators to participate in GAMSTOP, the national online self-exclusion scheme, which allows customers to self-exclude from all licensed online gambling at once. The government recognises the value of a responsible industry which protects players, provides employment and pays taxes. It does not hold information on the number of people employed in high street betting shops in Shropshire.

Gambling

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Gambling Commission in reducing gambling-related harms.

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of adequacy of online gambling protections provided by gambling companies for (a) known frequent gamblers and (b) other online users.

Mr John Whittingdale: Keeping gambling fair and open and free from crime, and protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited are priorities for the government and key licensing objectives for the Gambling Commission. The Commission requires all operators to monitor gambling activity and to intervene where a customer may be at risk of harm. It has consulted on tightening its rules on customer interaction for online operators and will publish a response and next steps in the summer. The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the broad scope of the Review, we called for evidence on the effectiveness of our regulatory system, including protections for online gamblers and the Gambling Commission's powers and resources. We aim to publish a white paper by the end of the year.

Sports: Schools

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to announce School Games Organiser funding from October 2021.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of making an announcement on School Games Organiser funding with a short period remaining before the previous funding round will end on (a) the efficacy of programmes for pupil health and wellbeing, (b) additional costs for participant schools and (c) staff job security.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to provide additional funding through the School Games Organiser scheme for additional work with schools in 2021-22 to improve levels of pupil physical activity following the covid-19 outbreak.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the extension of School Games Organiser contracts is planned to be announced.

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, by what date he plans decisions about the extension of School Games Organiser contracts to be announced.

Nigel Huddleston: Physical education (PE) and school sport plays an important role in supporting children and young people to be physically active, particularly during the current COVID-19 restrictions. The Department is working with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care on how to support better PE, sport and physical activity provision for all children and young people. This is part of our continuing work to deliver our joint school sport and activity action plan, published in 2019. I can confirm that the School Games Organisers are now fully funded for the 2021/22 financial year. Funding beyond that point will be subject to future Government Spending Review decisions.

Internet: Sales

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to ensure that consumers that own products which fail the basic requirements set out in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will be entitled to effective redress.

Matt Warman: The government has a strong history of protecting consumer rights. The UK has an existing framework of laws, such as the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which requires goods and services to be of satisfactory, as described and fit for a particular purpose if that purpose was made known to the trader by the consumer. Failure to meet these requirements means a consumer has a right to reject the goods and ask for a refund, repair or replacement. The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will fit within this legal framework and builds on the existing governance model for consumer protection by following this model for product security.

Sports: Coronavirus

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the evidential basis was used by his Department when determining the timing for when spectators will be permitted to watch grassroots sports under Step 3 of the Government’s roadmap for the easing of covid-19 restrictions.

Nigel Huddleston: Sports and physical activity are crucial for our mental and physical health. That’s why we made sure that people could exercise throughout the national restrictions and why we ensured that grassroots and children’s sport was at the front of the queue when easing those restrictions. On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister announced a roadmap out of the current lockdown in England. The government has introduced a step approach to the return of outdoor and indoor sport areas across England. Each full step of the roadmap is informed by the latest available science and data and has been five weeks apart in order to provide time to assess the data and provide one week’s notice to businesses and individuals. Spectators must adhere to legal gathering limits at Step 3. Outdoors, spectators can gather in groups of up to 30. Indoors, unless an exemption applies, spectators may only gather in groups of up to 6 people, or as a group of two households. A group made up of 2 households can include more than 6 people, but only where all members of the group are from the same 2 households (and each household can include an existing support bubble, if eligible).

Mobile Phones: Fraud

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on developing a strategy to tackle phone call and text message financial scams.

Mr John Whittingdale: Officials in our departments have been working closely to explore a range of different measures aimed at tackling the criminal abuse of mobile telecommunications across the different crime types, including fraud. The Government takes fraud very seriously and will continue to work closely with telecommunications providers, regulators, law enforcement agencies and consumer groups to protect the public from these crimes. This includes developing a voluntary charter of actions that the telecoms companies will implement to prevent fraud. Later this year, the Government will take further action through a Fraud Action Plan, an approach grounded in prevention, education, effective enforcement and regulatory reforms.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response within the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Mr John Whittingdale: The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence.The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.